A grandson worried sick about his dadi, a daughter-in-law concerned about depleting medical supplies of her in-laws and a son trying to reach out to his old parents were among those who were desperate to ensure the well-being of their loved ones during the lockdown.
They sought help from the National Commission for Women's #HappytoHelp task force that has been specially established for helping the elderly who require medical attention or are facing difficulty in getting grocery or medicine due to the lockdown imposed in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
Since it was constituted on April 4, the #HappytoHelp task force reached out to over 90 elderly families with the help of police and local NGOs and provided them with food, medicines and medical assistance, National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma said.
The NCW shared some of the cases addressed by the task force.
The first request was received by the task force from Michigan (US) of a son who was worried about depleting medicines of his mother living in Kottal in Kerala.
"The NCW got in touch with the local police who reached out to the mother and supplied her with the medicines. We also shared a photo with the son who was very happy to see the picture of his mother after a long time, and also to know the medicines been delivered," an NCW member said.
A grandmother escaped from Mumbai to be with her friends in Yadgir in Karnataka but soon after she reached the lockdown was imposed. Her worried grandson contacted the task force and requested them to supply her with medicines.
"The officer who delivered her the medicine said that the grandmother was surprised to see them with the medicines and asked if the Karnataka Chief Minister knew she was coming and sent the medicines," said a task force member.
In another case, a son requested the task force not just to provide medicine but also check if her mother in Tripura was consuming them.
Responding, the police not only delivered her the medicine but also shared a video, where she showed her medicine box.
A daughter-in-law in Gurgaon that was very worried about her mother-in-law's health which was getting worse.
They would bring the mother to Gurgaon for regular check-up twice or thrice a year. But this lockdown was sudden and the mother's health started getting worse. The old couple was living in Ambah in Madhya Pradesh.
She requested the task force for emergency medical visit and testing.
"After coordinating with the collector of Morena we were able to sort it out, they arranged a vehicle the next day to take the mother to Gwalior which is 70-75 kms away from Ambah," a task force member said.
Tushar reluctantly left his old parents in Modinagar (UP) and moved to Ghaziabad for establishing his business.
"He told me all about how he feels guilty of leaving his old parents at this age. He used to visit them every alternate day but since the lockdown he was not able to see them and we helped him reach out to them and know of their well-being," a task force member said.
Speaking about the initiative, the NCW chairperson said they started to come up with it when they saw many people tweeting that they are worried about well-being of their old parents.
"We thought why not we help them out. I formed a group which started working on it. Some of the people who we helped said now wherever they are they will be helping others so that was a goodwill chain system which is spreading now," she said.
India is currently under the biggest lockdown with around 1.3 billion people asked to stay home in view of the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed over 700 lives and infected more than 23,000 people.
In view of the lockdown, only people associated with essential services have been allowed to step out while rest have been asked to stay put wherever they are.
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