They beat the pandemic! Unsung Heroes who battled COVID honoured

Forgetting their personal safety and not caring to check whether they had the resources to help out victims of the Covid pandemic- these 12 extraordinary individuals set a shining example of what sacrifice and selflessness is all about. Awards and citations don’t even begin to describe the incredible deeds of these personalities who are a notch above the ordinary.

DR. TAHA MATEEN: When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Taha Mateen, an administrator of Hazrat Bismillah Shah (HBS) Hospital in Shivajinagar, faced a peculiar problem. The hospital had beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines, but the doctors were apprehensive in treating patients, as they feared contracting the virus. He shot a video addressing the doctors to take up the challenge with the same dedication that soldiers take during wars. This was effective in bringing back the doctors to the hospital. HBS Hospital has also started the Mercy Mission programme, an umbrella organisation of 19 voluntary bodies, in March. The Mercy Angels team helped the families get the bodies of their loved ones released from the hospitals and in conducting their funerals. The team had a dedicated ambulance and followed Covid safety protocols while dealing with the bodies. The organisation also distributed over 10,000 ration kits that were donated by Zomato, Feeding India and Rotary Midtown. Mercy Mission also ran 33 ‘Mercy Kitchens’, which cooked and distributed 14.5 lakh food packets, valued at Rs. 2.6 crore. The NGO also fed 2.85 lakh meals to the labourers traveling by 107 Shramik trains between May 1 and June 6.

AISHWARYA ANANTH KUMAR: Adamya Chetana, headed by Dr Tejaswini Ananth Kumar and Aishwarya Anath Kumar, led from the front during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Tejaswini swiftly responded to the situation when containment measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 left millions of people without any access to food.When the entire state went into a lockdown Adamya Chetana collaborated with the government and its donors to set up packaging centers for food relief kits and the Mega Kitchen of Adamya Chetana reopened its doors with due adherence to all the safety protocols. Meals were served and food relief kits with essential groceries were distributed to daily-wage earners, laborers at construction sites, workers in industrial areas, migrant laborers and rough sleepers. Adamya Chetana also collaborated with many trusts in taking care of doctors, nurses, and hospital staff and feeding them during the pandemic. The Foundation supplied hot meals to the hospital staff. They have distributed lunch and dinner for hospital staff across 45 Hospitals in Bengaluru and it is claimed that around 7,500 meals were supplied on a daily basis. Also, other frontline workers including hundreds of police personnel deployed across the city are getting food from the organization during the daytime.

AMEEN-E-MUDASSAR: This 40-year-old engineer played a key role in mitigating the financial problems of 508 families impacted by deadly second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Mudassar had also set up websites providing information regarding vacant beds and oxygen cylinders, which soon became very popular. He had himself tested positive during the first wave of the pandemic.

AKSHAYA PATRA FOUNDATION: This NGO had reached all over the country in providing meal or packed grocery kits to the marginalized and low-income segment of the society, comprising daily wage workers, migrant labourers, construction site workers, and inmates of old age homes and night shelters. Akshaya Patra Foundation extended food relief in various locations across 21 states and four union territories in coordination with state governments, UT Administrations and civic bodies. The Foundation also coordinated with the local administration to identify areas that need urgent care and provide relief to the affected people in both the first and second wave.It is claimed that they used its kitchen networks to prepare fresh, safe and hygienic cooked meals and deliver them to the food relief centres, hospitals and quarantine centres, slums, crematoriums, railway stations, etc.

AYUB AHMED: Fondly called ‘Body Miyan’ and ‘Appaji’ by those whose lives he has touched, Ayub Ahmed has done the job that nobody wants. He collected unclaimed bodies, performed their last rites and gave them a dignified send-off, even when their families don’t come forward. Ayub also started the Dr Ayub Ahmed Ji Body Miyan Foundation, through which around 400 people in Mysuru are fed – this project came to a temporary halt during the pandemic.

V. KRISHNAMOORTHY: A 65-year-old senior citizen of Domlur and founder of ‘Domlur Senior Citizens’ Charitable Trust’, Krishnamoorthy played a key role in supplying food to thousands of needy people during the first wave of coronavirus.

TANVEER AHMED: Tanveer performed the last r