Control Alt Delete: A guide to India's largest crowdfunded indie music festival thehindu.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehindu.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UPDATED: May 22, 2021 14:36 IST
CWR members on a group meeting on Zoom
When the second wave of Covid-19 began choking medical infrastructure, leaving tens of thousands frantically looking for medical care and posting appeals for help on social media, a group of friends realised it was time to pitch in. Pratika E. Prabhune and 16 others began helping by contacting suppliers to check on the availability of oxygen and medications and reaching out to those asking for help with the information they had gathered. The group named itself the Citizens’ War Room (CWR).
Prabhune says the group found itself overwhelmed with requests for help in the first week, with about one message every three minutes. Soon, a request for volunteers was put out and responses came in from across India. “People were unable to find beds or [medicines or oxygen] themselves,” says Prabhune, a Mumbai-based rapper and content manager at Ticket Fairy. The collective’s job entailed following up with suppliers