I love history, I know not everyone feels the same - but think about it, history defines our generation & the ones before us. Think of COVID - 19, it’s definitely one of the most historic events of our lives - what’s more historic is the coming together of our great nation. People of all ages, all genders, all religions came together to fight against a common enemy - a virus plundering through our nation. You & I did our bit by donating money, or by verifying leads & amplifying helpful voices, the frontline workers risked their lives to save lives (420+ Doctors have been reported dead in this wave alone in India). I talked to a man who did his best to help out too. This is a small story based on a conversation I had with him.
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Meghdut Roy Chowdhury, Director of Global Operations at Techno India, shares the story of EOK, Techno India & their fight against the virus. EOK or Entrepreneurs of Calcutta has been
“active since May 2020, the group is led by Sagar Daryani (Founder, Wow! Momo), Pulak Chamaria (Owner, Infinity Group), Aditya Ladsaria (Founder, Chai Break), and Amit Saraogi (Managing Director, Anmol Feeds), among others.
EOK is facilitating COVID-19 care facilities in and around Calcutta. It aims to set up over 500 HDU/isolation beds in partnership with government and private hospitals to increase oxygen supply. In fact, it is also procuring oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPAP machines, and other medical devices.
Meanwhile, global corporates are also coming forward and supporting the group as part of their CSR initiative. The group is also raising funds on the crowdfunding platform Milaap for the cause to reach its target of Rs 7.5 crores” - read an article on 17th May 2020 by Your Story.
“This is about responsible citizenship. It’s about saving as many lives as we can at this moment,” says Meghdut Roychowdhury.
The group has already raised around Rs 5 crore within a fortnight. The plan is to raise a million dollars and use that to provide beds, ICUs, oxygen supply, and manpower to hospitals across the state. Though it’s an unofficial group, it has nearly 80 entrepreneurs joining hands for the project ‘Breathe Again’.
All the information on EOK’s activities has been added to the carousel.
On the other front, Techno India plans to vaccinate all of its staff & students as soon as possible. They have already converted the Techno India DAMA (LB 10, Eastern Metropolitan Bypass) into a COVID Help Centre & are in the process to convert CCU Offbeat(36/F, Topsia Rd), & the Sector V Techno India University campus (EM-4, EM Block, Sector V)into similar facilities as soon as possible. The vaccine here will be made available to not only the students, staff but also to the general public. They are also helping out various corporates with varying strengths from 100s to 10,000s of employees with the vaccination.
How can you & I help?
The most important thing to realize, as sir mentioned, is to not panic. To keep patience intact, staying home & doing everything to stay safe - there is a whole world out there & you aren’t alone anymore. There are many teams, just like EOK or Techno India, doing everything they can to get you those two doses of vaccine as soon as possible.
You can also help with the “Breathe Again” program by visiting the Milaap Link or sharing the same.
