Several people offered blood for the injured, a religious organisation offered food and water for the rescuers, while many others chipped in with offer of voluntary services.
Netizens of Kolkata came forward to help both the affected people and the administration in the aftermath of collapse of a section of Majerhat bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp were also flooded with jokes and memes criticising the authorities for their alleged failure to maintain bridges and flyovers in the city.
Till Wednesday evening, 24 hours after the collapse, over 1000 people offered help for voluntary services and more than 365 others sought help in the 'Crisis Response The Bridge Collapse' link of the Facebook.
Hundreds of people also marked themselves as 'safe' in that link.
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"Need of the moment. Huge Blood loss. Victims of Majerhat bridge collapse esp poor road dwellers with rare blood groups need blood transfusion ASAP. I have only B+ with me in me. Most of the rescued ones are probably in SSKM.CMRI. Help them with rare blood group transfusion if you get any chance if possible," one Facebook post said.
Another post said, "My blood group is O+. if there is anyone in need to ping me."
The post was greeted with comments like "Please call me at the following number and pls provide me with details."
The 'Behala Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee' has urged people on social media to inform those in need that they were offering food, water and tea for the rescuers.
"Since Behala Gurudwara sahib is at the close proximity to the site, we have opened our gates like always for anyone wanting any help or assistance. We will be providing langar, tea and water till the rescue operations are complete. Please circulate the message so that who ever in need can contact us," said the post shared both in Facebook and WhatsApp.
The post was shared many times.
A media professional from Behala area, which is linked to the heart of the city through Majerhat bridge, said in a post Tuesday night, "I reached home okay. But shudder to think about others who passed the stretch after me at the time of collapse. Let they be all safe."
As in case of other disasters, Netizens did not leave this one either without tickling some funny bones with jokes and memes targeting the alleged failure of the authorities to properly maintain bridges.
One of these goes like this. A dejected youth writes to his girlfriend: "If you leave me, I'll commit suicide by standing under a bridge in Kolkata."
A particulary telling post said, "I marked myself unsafe in Nagerbazar flyover" which is located in the opposite end of the city.
In some other cases, the posts are political.
To such posts, one said in Facebook: "Humble request not to politicise the issue and play blame games. The need of the hour is to ensure safety of people. Pointing fingers and finding the Root cause can be done once every one is safe. Rescue the trapped. Help in any form would mean a lot. Prayers!!!...
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
