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‘Help Me’ a WhatsApp group making a difference

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Dehradun: Since the first Covid-19 wave in 2020 to now the second, many nameless, faceless Covid heroes have emerged from our community across the hill-state of Uttarakhand.

Adding to the long queue of help-groups is a WhatsApp group of like-minded women called ‘Help Me,’ based in Dehradun. Started towards the end of April 2021, the group, like many others, came up with the sole agenda of wanting to help those in need.

For the past many weeks ‘Help Me’ has been working relentlessly to make a difference in the lives of our frontline workers, from the crematorium to the hospital staff, Covid vaccination centres and even Covid positive patients recuperating in the district.

The idea behind ‘Help Me’ they tell me is, “Our’s is an informal, like-minded friends and family members group who came together with the sole purpose to help during these extraordinary times. We want to to do our bit and help as many frontline workers as we can.” Stating further, “we got in touch with officials on the ground to get the exact number of people in need and have been sending out home-made meals to staff as well as refreshments and water to our frontline warriors for the past few weeks and counting.”

Mood-boosters protein rich snacks make up these daily refreshment packets that contain cookies, buns, potato chips along with water bottles that bring a smile on the face of the receiver. Other than that, these dedicated women, moved by the plight of the staff manning the Raipur Covid Crematorium in the outskirts of Dehradun have been sending wholesome meals to sustain them through the never-ending day.

‘Help Me’ is looking for donors in order expand their circle further so that they are able to reach more such people in their hour of need.

Please make your donations @ +917906202376 (Paytm)

As sweet as it can get during pandemic

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun: Young. Type-1 diabetic. Covid survivor. Yet, helping those like her in their hour of need.

When Rekha Negi set up Uttarakhand Diabetes Awareness Initiative (UDAI), a community support for those living with type-1 diabetes in the year 2018, little did she know she would be a frontline warrior during Covid19.

Starting her day early to follow up with children on their fasting sugar count so that they can have a good day ahead, to then assisting diabetic patients who are Covid positive living across Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and even Delhi.

Rekha tells us, “Underprivileged people and especially children with diabetes are undergoing difficult challenges during Covid19. I am providing them free online consultation, dietary changes if any with the help of doctors and even organising medicinal supplies to their doorsteps.”

Her NGO helps Rekha to stay connected with local volunteers, she adds, “We have 6-7 volunteers (including SOCH members) in Tehri who have connected us with eighty Gram Pradhans from the region. We take down their requirements which we forward to Dehradun group member Himalaya Ramola who in turn arranges for these requirements to make their way to Tehri the following morning.”

From Glucometer Strips, medicines to pen needles, except insulin that she tries to procure locally with the help of volunteers or community-aid groups, Rekha has been making it easy for diabetic patients to have easy access to these life-saving drugs while they battle Covid.

From those as young as two year old, to young men and women and senior citizens, Rekha Negi is offering them support, comfort and kindness in a number of ways. From free online doctor consultation for the family to sending across diabetic medicines, the young lady says No! to no one, but sprinkles a little stardust in such testing times.

‘Sohne Di Pasand’ touches five million hearts and counting

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Mumbai: Punjabi romantic song ‘Sohne Di Pasand’ released on YouTube has garnered five million views and counting within a month of its online release.

The song not only articulates the visual tale of an adorable love-story but it is also thought provoking. The song seems to have pulled on the heartstrings of young lovers across the globe and made an instant connect with their fans. While singer Jind has lent his soulful voice to ‘Sohne Di Pasand,’ beautiful and talented leading lady Akaisha adds magic to the musical saga. Shera Dhaliwal of Donut Music is the producer as well as the lyricist of the four minute song which has been Directed by Abhaynoor Singh who is making his debut in the industry with this Punjabi song.

Shot on location in Chandigarh, the love story of ‘Sohne Di Pasand’ revolves around a small town innocent love story. It is the story of how a humble Muslim girl played by talented Akaisha falls in love with a rich Hindu boy enacted by Jind himself. While the girl’s brother is skeptical about the match, the storyline ends with the boy convincing his parents to ask her hand in marriage and then getting engaged. The musical video highlights the pertinent message of how sentiments of love cannot be justified in terms of religion.

Though sung in Punjabi what makes ‘Sohne Di Pasand’ extraordinary is its unusual Gujarati beats, a first-of-its-kind experiment in the Punjabi music industry thanks to Jaymeet.

‘Sohne Di Pasand’ as envisioned by Shera Dhaliwal has been beautifully scripted by the dedicated team who worked with the aim of not only producing a melodious song but also on sending out an important social message to the younger generation on how religion should hold no barriers when it comes to true love.

Urvashi’s latest look styled by Donatella Versace

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Mumbai: Bollywood’s young superstar Urvashi Rautela is no doubt a fashion icon for the young generation. The young talented actor never disappoints her fans. Over the years, the fashion diva has managed to weave a magical spell on her growing number of fans with her complete persona be it her outfit, make-up, styling or acting in her music videos, web-series, movies etc.

Urvashi Rautela latest look in the Egyptian song ‘Versace Baby’ with Arabic superstar Mohamed Ramadan has been styled by none other but the diva of fashion world, designer Donatella Versace. Actress Urvashi Rautela’s looks have been styled by the Beyonce team which cost a whopping fifteen crore. The project took just over a year to pre-plan Urvashi’s outfit and themed look for the video.  Every scene in the video has been tailor-made for the occasion with carefully chosen outfits. In the song, Urvashi portrays the Greek Goddess ‘Medusa’ one of the monsters from Greek mythology.

Sharing more about recreating her as Medusa in the video, Urvashi says, “the six minute project took more than one year to plan my outfit for the song. Every scene is packed with carefully chosen outfits.” Adding, “The Versace family as we are all well aware, is no stranger to tragedy and triumph, making the mythic Medusa a fitting choice.”

‘Versace Baby’ Urvashi’s debut international music video is trending at #number 1 all over the world, while going viral on social media handles. The song is said to be one of the highest budget songs for the year 2021. Released on Eid, Urvashi had earlier stated that,  “all proceeds and my earning from this video will be donated towards nation’s fight against Covid-19.”

Doonites: The Gift of Food during Covid19

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun: If you happen to be around Dharampur area in Dehradun and see two young men in their thirties driving around, distributing food packets to labourers, homeless and frontline workers, then you have come across Arvind Pundir and Amit Negi two friends who are feeding hungry mouths in times of Covid19.

Arvind Pundir is the owner of ‘Samose-Wala’s’ in Nehru Colony, a five-month-old café famous for serving 18 to 20 kinds of samosas that had to down shutters towards end of March. Covid’s second had struck. Making the most of his kitchen and staff, Arvind along with his friend Amit started out by delivering wholesome home-cooked meals to Covid positive patients living in isolation for a nominal charge of 120/- rupees. Today they deliver close to thirty such meals within a radius of five kilometers of Dharampur.

Out on delivery, the duo came across umpteen frontline workers like policemen, homeless, the poor and labourers working at various construction sites who couldn’t manage meals. They grabbed this opportunity and decided to feed close to hundred people a day either rajma chawal or chole chawal free of charge.

Not stopping there, Arvind and Amit have decided to make 25-30 bottles of interesting thirst quenchers for those out on duty as the mercury rises.

Arvind tells me, “ I have a well-equipped kitchen with two cooks and we deliver food from morning to evening. What we are looking for are genuine volunteers and people who can call us and point us in the right direction. All we need is information about the homeless, the helpless or the lesser fortunate ones whom we can feed.”

Next time if per chance you see someone who needs help, call Arvind on the number given below. Nothing is more distressing than one who sleeps on a hungry stomach.

For Volunteers/ Information:

Amit Negi: 6395412108

SOCH keeping Covid-19 at bay in Uttarakhand

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Tehri: Covid-19 has crawled its way into our hills of home. At present, there is not a single district in Uttarakhand that is not battling the pandemic wave that has left many infected in its sweep.

Taking notice of the gravity of the issue, the Centre came out with special SOPs to curtail the spread of the pandemic in rural and semi-urban towns giving weightage to village-level surveillance, tele-consultation with community health officers, training in rapid antigen testing, but in the meantime, young people are making all the difference.

Rising to the occasion, young volunteers from the community are coming together to do their bit to ensure that the pandemic doesn’t make its way beyond their village gate. SOCH is one such consortium of fifteen-twenty young men and women spread across five hill-districts of Tehri, Uttarkashi, Pauri, Chamoli and Pithoragarh who have taken charge to limit the spread of the disease.

Leading from the front, the team has been working relentlessly distributing masks and sanitizer kits, put together with their personal funds. The volunteers head out early morning to adjoining far flung villages to distribute kits as well as spread awareness amongst the hill-folks about Covid SOPs, dos and don’t’s.

Deep Negi, from the hospitality industry in Dubai was home visiting family when the second Covid-wave struck. Since then making the most of his extended holiday, Deep and his team of volunteers are working on war footing trying to streamline the distribution of masks and sanitizers in over two hundred households across five districts and counting.

This enthusiastic and dedicated team of SOCH has been going door-to door with the single mission of preventing the Covid pandemic from spreading in their villages,  they believe, ‘Prevention is better than cure! And it is no secret that there is negligible if not completely unequipped medical assistance in our villages to deal with the growing pandemic.

For those who wish to support SOCH in their endeavour, please contribute to the below given account:

Account Details:

Account Name – Social Organization for Connecting Happiness

Account No – 37064757554

Bank Name – State Bank of India

IFSC – SBIN0005475

MICR – 248002006

Dharampur Branch, Haridwar Road

Dehradun, Uttarakhand -248001, India

For more information, please follow up on – 7300758707 (m)

Urvashi Rautela to donate earnings from “Versace Baby” to Covid relief fund

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Mumbai: Uttarakhand’s beauty Urvashi Rautela recently made her international debut with the music video ‘Versace Baby’ with Egyptian actor-singer Mohamed Ramadan, released worldwide today i.e. on Eid.

Urvashi recently uploaded a clip of the five minute Egyptian song and where she stated,  “all proceeds and my earning from this video will be donated towards nation’s fight against Covid-19. My international music album  ‘Versace Baby’ out now with Arabic superstar Mohamed Ramadan. Celebrate your Eid with us.”  A noble thought by an artist who can make a difference in such testing times. The actor considers herself a national enthusiast and is willing to do anything in her power help the nation in its hour of need.  In the clip uploaded on her social media the fans get a glimpse of the talented actor sporting a red dress fanning herself with dollar bills while the camera trails Egyptian superstar 32-year old Mohamed Ramadan walking out from a room full of dollar bills scattered all-around.

‘Versace Baby’ also stars Somaya El Khashab, Arfa Abdel Rassoul, Heba Magdy, Sabry Fawaz, Sayed Ragab,Ryad El Kholy, Eman Elassi and others.

While ‘Versace Baby’ is Urvashi’s debut international project for a video song. Earlier, the actress was in the news for being the first Indian film actress as a show-stopper at Arab Fashion Week.

Urvashi Rautela was recently seen alongside singer Guru Randhawa in the song “Doob Gaye.” The actress entered the world of music videos in 2014 with songs such as  ‘Lovedose,’  ‘Teri Load Ve,’ ‘Woh Chaand Kaha Se Laogi’ and ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si.’

Meanwhile, the actress will be seen in the upcoming movie “The Black Rose” and the Bollywood remake of Tamil super hit, ‘Thiruttu Payale 2’. She will be making her Tamil debut with the legendary Saravanan in their upcoming mega-budget sci-fi film. The young talent will be seen alongside Randeep Hooda in the web series “Inspector Avinash”

Urvashi Rautela’s dream date with her mother

By
newspost
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0

Dateline Mumbai: Mothers Day is always a special day, and this year is no exception. While due to the present pandemic lockdown, mothers across the world will be hunkered down at home with their kids— and that includes celebrities too. Actor Urvashi Rautela pre-planned and is making this special day count.

This mothers day Urvashi Rautela has planned a perfect date with her mom, Meera Rautela. The actress said, “I am gonna bake a cake! And have a movie night, complete with theatre treats. I already bought something special for my mom before the lockdown happened. People can also prepare homemade gifts!” Adding, “one can make a hand-made card, gift decorative plants. Deriving amazing benefits from decorative plants and their refreshing lush-green leaves will fill positivity and happiness in your mother’s life.” 

Signing off, Urvashi says, “We should all thank our mothers for taking such good care of us and making us feel special. Mothers are truly the heartbeat of every home.“

On the work front, The most exciting project for Urvashi Rautela is going to be her international music collaboration “Versace” with the Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan. Urvashi Rautela will be sharing screen space with Randeep Hooda for the upcoming Jio studios’ web series “Inspector Avinash”. The actress will soon be making her Tamil debut in a big-budget multilingual sci-fi film. The most interesting part about this debut is that Urvashi Rautela will be playing the role of a microbiologist and an IITian. Apart from this Urvashi Rautela will be starring in “Black Rose” a bilingual thriller, and a Hindi remake of “Thirutu Payale 2”

Uttarakhand police tackles Covid despite 3,199 positive & 10 deaths

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun: The 2nd wave of Covid pandemic sets new records every day. Since March last year, three thousand one hundred and ninety nine policemen have tested Covid positive, according to the data received from Uttarakhand Police Headquarters. And ten policemen have lost their lives to the deadly virus.

But making the most of the grim situation, our frontline warriors i.e. health workers and our men in khakhi are both, leading from the front.

Uttarakhand police force is performing their duties in protecting the public not only on the roads but also in containment zones ensuring that health guidelines are followed to the hilt. Police personnel are also going a step beyond duty to deliver medicines, oxygen cylinders, donating plasma and helping citizens in their time of need.

In the first wave last year, from March 2020 to 23rd March 2021, a total of one thousand nine hundred and eighty one policemen were found to be Corona positive and eight police personnel died during this period.  A year later, in the second wave, from March 23rd 2021 to May 3rd 2021, one thousand two hundred and eighteen policemen have been infected, with two casualties.

To date, the number of police personnel that have been administered both vaccine doses are twenty three thousand, one hundred and thirty five. Despite that, one thousand and twenty nine policemen were infected by the virus, but recovered rapidly post treatment.

Between 24th March and 3rd of May 2021, Covid tests was carried out on thirteen thousand three hundred and ten police personnel out of which one thousand two hundred and eighteen were found to be positive.

Boosting the morale of the force, DGP Ashok Kumar said, “We all have to follow as well as keep Covid guidelines in place. We also have to be more humane when dealing with people. We have to put a stop on black-marketing, over-pricing of drugs, forgery of any kind. We have a larger role to play than last year.”

Mussoorie in the times of pandemic

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Mussoorie: There has been an alarming rise in those infected by Covid-19 in Mussoorie in the second wave. While just a month ago, on the 4th of April there were a hundred and sixty-eight Covid positive patients with six containment zones. Fast-forward to present day and the numbers have risen to seven hundred and eight seven with thirteen containment zones.

The Civil Hospital – is the only dedicated Covid hospital in the hill station – has nineteen oxygen beds and five ICU beds, two ambulances, with another ten beds with oxygen concentrators being set up in the coming days. Within ten days of being operational, nine patients have recovered and sent home.

Clamping a ten-day curfew with non-essential shops being shut after 12 noon, and essential shops at 7:00 p.m. has had a salutary effect. The number of those being tested positive has been going down. Of course, it is too early in the day to let your guard down as in the second wave the town has lost over a dozen residents.

The local administration, the community and youth continue to work on a war footing to tackle the grim situation. From a 24×7 Control room number to assist those in need of any assistance related to Covid-19: these include home-isolation, check-up, medicines, disinfection, sanitization drives, free distribution of oxy-meters and thermometers. Seven vaccination centers have been operational assisted by local schools and community groups, where nine thousand eight hundred and twenty four have been, vaccinated to date.

The Sub Divisional Magistrate of Mussoorie, Manish Singh IAS tells Newspost: ‘For effective monitoring, Mussoorie has been divided into four sectors, each headed by a sector magistrate. They look after Covid positive cases in their areas. A dedicated team of Asha workers, teachers, Aanganwadi workers – help and assist those in need by providing medicines; monitoring the health of those affected and report if they see a spike in cases in containment zones.”

Pehal, a community based initiative was started by a team of six like-minded people. They are working round the clock to deliver over hundred and twenty homemade-meals free of charge per-day to patients living in isolation. Apart from meals, the team along with the medical authorities has started an oxygen-bank where they are handing out oxygen cylinders to those with low oxygen levels, along with nine advanced oxy-meters.

These are trying times and once again what triumphs is the spirit of Mussoorie – it has come out a winner. Many nameless, faceless residents, mostly preferring anonymity, have stepped up to help crowd-funding, organizing ICU beds, plasma donors, oxygen concentrators, ambulances and medicines for those who need them in the hills of home.

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