A tweet and timely help

CHENNAI: Sometimes we take the adage ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself’ too seriously. Over the past few decades, at least, this has been used all too often in liaisons with the government. We have, collectively, accepted that the there is only so much the government can do and we have to step up to fill in the gap. Not surprisingly, that is why you find several private organisations and welfare networks fast at work even in the face of the pandemic. Yet, once in a while, you hear a story that restores your faith in the system. Soundariya Anil has one such tale to tell. 

On March 21, just days before the country went into lockdown, Soundariya’s grandparents — 93-year-old Gopalan and 87-year-old Saraswathi — were at their farmhouse in Anamalai, located 70 kilometres from Coimbatore. They had been living with their son in Canada and had returned home only in the first week of March. They had taken steps to remain quarantined. Though the farmhouse was located in a remote area, they were not left wanting for anything. Most essentials were easily available, ingredients for food — oil, vegetables and fruits — were harvested from their own farm. All was fine till they ran out of medicines as the lockdown began.

“They take eight to nine medications every day and their stock got over soon after they reached the farmhouse. We also didn’t remember to check with them before they left from our house. We couldn’t replenish them immediately because of the lockdown. I called up the government helpline number. Somebody said that they’d help but we did not hear back from them. The courier service was also unavailable. We couldn’t bring our grandparents back because all the roads were blocked,” narrates Soundariya.

It was when all seemed bleak that Soundariya decided to send out a tweet to C Vijayabaskar, the Health Minister of Tamil Nadu. Lo and behold, there was an immediate response! The minister’s team reached out to Soundariya and checked if the prescriptions were in order. Within 15 hours, two men from the food safety department purchased the medicines from a shop in Coimbatore and delivered them at her grandparents’ doorstep.

“The medicines cost `32,000 but those people were courteous enough to shell out their money to buy it; we paid them back upon arrival. My grandparents were extremely grateful and overwhelmed with the timely help,” recounts Soundariya.  For Soundariya, this one act has revived her faith in the country’s government and its efficiency. “We have never failed to take a dig at the government at finding faults with the governance. I think they deserve to be applauded for this sort of quick and efficient service to the remotest of places,” says Soundariya, who later thanked the team on Twitter.