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Rajni Gill woke up with a slight fever in mid-April, the first warning that she had COVID-19. Within a few days, she was breathless and nearly unconscious in a hospital.
Desperate to arrange plasma treatment for Dr Gill, a gynaecologist in the city of Noida, her family called doctors, friends, anyone they thought could help. Then her sister posted a plea on Facebook: “I am looking for a plasma donor for my sister who is hospitalised in Noida. She is B positive and is 43.”
The message, quickly amplified on Twitter, flashed across the phone of Srinivas B.V., an opposition politician in nearby Delhi, who was just then securing plasma for a college student. He deputised a volunteer donor to rush to the blood bank for Dr Gill.
Social media as ‘godsend’: In India, cries for help get results
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Social media as ‘godsend’: In India, cries for help get resultsBy Suhasini Raj, New York Times
Last Updated: May 03, 2021, 11:32 AM IST
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Synopsis
With India’s health care system overwhelmed by India’s unprecedented COVID surge, which is bringing more than 400,000 new cases and thousands of deaths each day, desperate relatives and friends of the infected have resorted to sending SOS messages on social media. And many of those calls are being answered.
Agencies
Rajni Gill woke up with a slight fever in mid-April, the first warning that she had COVID-19. Within a few days, she was breathless and nearly unconscious in a hospital.
Social media as 'godsend': In India, cries for help get results bdnews24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bdnews24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Noida: The Noida Authority has selected two agencies for running the indoor stadium and shooting range at its integrated sports complex in Sector 21A. While a consortium led by former cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh will operate the indoor stadium, a Faridabad-based sports academy will run the shooting range.
The authority had been struggling to find professional agencies to run these sports facilities after having initiated the bidding process in October last year. The bid documents of the two facilities had to be revised three times to make the terms and conditions viable for interested agencies.
While the indoor stadium was commissioned with a budget of Rs 101 crore, the authority spent Rs 14 crore to establish the shooting range. Both facilities were ready in November last year but have been lying unused since then.
Three agencies have shown interest in the shooting range
Noida: In a mixed bag for sports lovers in the city, the Noida Authority has started the technical evaluation of three agencies that have come forward to operate a shooting range in Sector 21A. But work on maintaining the indoor stadium has progressed little in the absence of the required number of sports firms showing interest in it.
The integrated sports facilities, which got ready in January, have been developed along with a cricket stadium over 69 acres in Sector 21A. The last date for agencies to apply for these two projects was February 10.