While 2020 transformed the lives of people around the globe due to the pandemic, there were a few who made a change to the small world around them. TNIE profiles such people, institutions and organisations that blazed a trail in the face of adversity and brought hope and cheer in a bleak year
Selfless service
Reshma Mohandas
Reshma, a nurse at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital, contracted Covid after attending to one of India’s oldest Covid survivors. But the nurse placed her full faith in the state’s healthcare system and overcame the viral disease. Her determination and resolve went on to inspire thousands of healthcare workers to fight the pandemic with renewed vigour. Health Minister K K Shailaja hailed Reshma’s dedication and said she had treated elderly patients like her parents.
True grit
Dr Prathibha K
The government medical officer refused to oblige the demands of the police to carry out a namesake medico-legal examination of people taken into custody. It was the custodial torture inflicted on a few arrested people that prompted Prathibha to speak out. She fought a lone legal battle resulting in the High Court asking the government to come out with clear-cut guidelines on medico-legal examination of people under custody. Her initiative has helped prevent police atrocities on people in custody.
Poll amid pandemic
State Election Commission
The state poll panel had a huge responsibility on its shoulders as it had to conduct an election in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The commission, in coordination with the health department, evolved detailed guidelines on voting by Covid patients and those in quarantine. Special postal ballots for such voters were introduced for the first time. The initiatives would serve as a model for future conduct of elections during a pandemic.
Act of compassion
Dr Mary Anitha
The doctor, who also runs a centre for differently-abled children in Kochi, came forward to take care of a six-month-old baby whose parents had tested positive for Covid-19. Seeing the baby’s predicament, she went into quarantine with the child. This was in June when the stigma surrounding Covid was at its peak. Dr Mary Anitha’s compassionate act won hearts and also helped reduce the stigma associated with the pandemic.
First Bell KITE-Victers channel
The government-run channel’s full potential was realised when the state’s education system turned fully virtual owing to the pandemic. With the help of the State Council for Educational Research and Training, the channel started telecasting full-fledged virtual classrooms named ‘First Bell’ for students from Classes I to XII. The virtual class telecast for students of lower classes became viral on social media as well. Kerala’s virtual classroom, which was launched on the very day of school reopening, also earned national acclaim.
Change of platform
‘Sufiyum Sujatayum’ movie team
When the Malayalam film industry came to a grinding halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, filmmakers who had their works awaiting release were clueless about the way forward. However, the makers of ‘Sufiyum Sujatayum’ decided to release the movie on OTT platform, becoming the first Malayalam movie to be released in the new medium. This paved way for more movie releases on OTT platforms. Unfortunately, the film’s director Shanavas Naranipuzha passed away on December 23.
winds of change
Twenty20
The corporate social responsibility wing of Kitex Group scripted success in the local body elections. Twenty20 that wrested Kizhakkambalam panchayat in a surprise victory on its electoral debut in 2015, won three more panchayats this time. The apolitical outfit owes its victory to the welfare steps and development initiatives implemented in its home turf. Twenty20’s victory has also prompted many other apolitical, development-oriented groups to enter the electoral battle.
Friends in need
People of Malappuram
Malappuram residents came in for all-round praise for saving several passengers of the Air India Express plane that crashed at the Kozhikode airport on August 7. Many local people rushed to offer all help unmindful of the heavy downpour and Covid- 19 fear.
Their valiant act sent out a message across the state that rescue work was not the responsibility of the administration alone. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan praised the ‘fast response’ of the local people and officials for being the first to reach the crash site to save the passengers. National carrier Air India too praised their effortswhich earned them national attention.
Living up to the challenge
Dr Kavya Karunakaran, Medical Officer
Dr Kavya, a Junior Administrative Medical Officer, was entrusted with the huge responsibility of tracing the contacts of a student who became India’s first confirmed Covid patient. This was at a time when there was no established protocol on contact tracing. But Kavya and her team traced 63 travel contacts and ensured that all those who came in contact with the patient were tracked down to minimise the spread of the virus. Their work became a template for the contact tracing exercise that the state undertook later.
Text: Sovi Vidyadharan | Design: Nikhil P A