Covid Samaritans: They love to help you

Get a free ride

Pankush Miglani
HiWay Cabs

Pankush Migliani

“We took up this initiative with a view to encourage more and more citizens to come forward and get jabbed, for the greater good of the society. I feel that we would only be able to tackle this unprecedented situation, once we are all safe,” shares Pankush Miglani, the owner and the Chief Operating Officer at HiWay Cabs. “We are providing free cab rides to and from the vaccination centres. Dozens have already availed this free service so far. Anybody who is eligible to get vaccinated, and looking to book a cab, can easily get in touch with us.” Miglani also insists that his team is erring on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of the passengers. “All our staff members are medically tested on a regular basis. All our fleet is chemically sanitised. We have been working around the clock to spread the word, reaching out to those in need.” He rues, “Many citizens still loath the idea of getting inoculated or are fearful about it because they might be misinformed. This is a result of the commotion prevailing in the media, or just sheer rumour mills churning out vague data, especially on social media, where unverified information is circulated. So, I would urge everyone to come together as one.”

Contact number 8872711111

Here is a free meal

Geetanjli Puri

Geetanjli Puri, a resident of Sector-17, Panchkula, has been preparing and delivering home-made food to the COVID-infected patients in the city. Ask her what prompted to take up this initiative, and pat comes her reply, “It was just a call from the heart.” She then reveals, “I have had Covid before. Having been through it myself, I know how hard it could be for the Covid patients to perform some basic household chores like cooking food. When my family had been down with Covid, we were lucky to have some relatives and friends by our side. That is how the idea cropped up.” She explains, “I am working towards providing customised food offerings to the Covid-affected patients in Panchkula. We also do deliveries in Sector-7, 26, the Modern Housing Complex in Chandigarh and the Mansa Devi Complex. I want to ensure that they receive a nutritious diet, which is in line with their symptoms. In the initial days, for instance, several patients experience a sore throat. I am very mindful of those little facts. So, rather than cooking rice and roti, I instead, prepare soup, dalia and kheer for them, among other things. Then there is also an option of ordering a complete veg. thali. All of this is completely free of cost, including the customised requests.” Puri adds, “The food is prepared by me and my daughters. My elder daughter happens to be an IHM-Mumbai graduate. So, she is tasked with ensuring high hygiene and safety standards.” She says, “Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you.”

Contact numbers 9872405700, 9814435700 & 9205415001

They will run errands for you

Chandan Sadhu

Geetanjli Puri

Thirty-two year old Chandan Sadhu recently formed a group of volunteers to help Covid patients with basic errands like grocery shopping, medicine, vegetables or other essentials.

He shares, “Some of my friends and relatives, who had been down with Covid, and under home isolation, had reached out to me for help. They felt helpless as they were not able to step out of the house. That is how I came across this idea of assisting such patients and picked up the baton. To that end, I formed a group of volunteers. We deliver the items right at their doorstep. The patients ideally make the payment through Google Pay or Paytm. But in case an underprivileged patient cannot afford to pay, we give away the items completely away free of cost.” He says, “I am just doing my bit.” An emotional but self-possessed Sadhu reveals, “I lost my veteran grandfather to Covid-19. But that only further whetted my determination to help the elderly. My grandfather was involved in several philanthropic activities. Even if I can accomplish a scintilla of what he had contributed to the society, I would feel content. This whole initiative is a result of the collective efforts of me and all those other volunteers who have come forward to help. If you live in the tri-city, feel free to can contact us.”

Chandan Sadhu, Twitter handle – @chandansadhu 9971139801
Bhanit Khullar 9815639146
Digvijay Sharma 9779009088
Sameer Wanchoo 9467862072
Ankur Gupta 9815876971
Vikas Jagota 9050973098
Maneet Joshi 9855181818

A diet kitchen

Sanya Grover,
Nirmal Bhojan

Sanya Grover

Sanya Grover, a resident of Chandigarh, shares, “We started Nirmal Bhojan as a diet kitchen, keeping in view the fact that folks have become increasingly health conscious nowadays. And owing to a hectic schedule, one often fails to abide by a specific diet plan. Many feel that preparing diet food requires a lot of time and efforts. All our clients need to do is to simply provide us with their weekly diet plans, and then we prepare and deliver healthy meals to them.” She adds, “But in the midst of this pandemic, we have come to know that several Covid patients lack access to hygienic and healthy food.” Concerned, Grover took it upon herself to make sure that they eat healthy in this phase of convalescence. She reveals, “I took up this initiative on the 18th of April, to prepare and deliver healthy home-made meals . My team, which comprises of housekeepers and a delivery agent, has been working tirelessly to help them.” Grover ruefully admits, “We have also been inundated with requests to deliver meals in Manimajra and Panchkula, but unfortunately, we are falling short of delivery agents. And it is unfortunate that we are not able to help those. On days when the orders pour in thick and fast, I go and do some deliveries on my own, too.”

DM @nirmalbhojan on Instagram or WhatsApp 9779209979.

Get some oxygen

Harpreet Singh
Sachdeva, Director of Hitech Industries Limited

Harpeet Singh Sachdeva

Harpreet Singh Sachdeva, Director (Hitech Industries Limited), shares, “We have been quietly indulging in philanthropic activities for well over the past two decades. As an organization, one of our key corporate social responsibility initiatives is to help asthma and cancer-stricken patients who live off medical oxygen. And these times of lockdown have only further whetted our commitment to the cause.” He adds, “We understood the plight of the patients. We wanted to do our bit in ensuring an uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen to those who heavily bank on the medical gas. To that end, we refill next to 2,500 medical oxygen cylinders every year. You come to us with an emptied cylinder, and we pump the gas back in it for free. In case a patient does not own a medical oxygen cylinder, we provide them with one. They are only charged on the basic cost of the cylinder. However, this too has become a concern as there aren’t enough cylinders amidst the worsening pandemic for us to give out to patients at home.”

“We supply medical gasses to hospitals like PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research) and Guru Nanak Hospital in Amritsar, and various tri-city-based nursing homes and hospitals.”
9872100006 & 9878800060

The blood donors
Vivek Mehra
(I Am Still Human)

Vivek Mehra

“In wake of the nationwide lockdown in March last year, I had started a campaign to give succour to all those in need,” shares Vivek Mehra, the founder of ‘I Am Still Human’, a non-government organisation that he had formed back in 2015. He reveals, “Over 5,000 dry ration kits were distributed among the underprivileged. Our team also worked in synergy with the city administration to provide well over 79,000 women with sanitary pads.” He adds, “If the need arises, we would resume the campaign.” He then reveals, “Of late, we have been working to provide the Indian Army with an adequate supply of blood on a regular basis,” shares Mehra, who hails from a family with generations in the army. “Giving blood to those to shed their own blood to protect this country is the best way to thank them. We have created a community, and whenever a serving soldier, a veteran or a family member is in need of blood, our team makes the blood donation directly at the Command Hospital. Besides, we are also planning to create a more formalised community of donors of blood, plasma and platelets.”

For contact DM @iamstillhumanofficial on Instagram or http://www.iamstillhuman.org