BENGALURU : Take a look at music artiste Raghu Dixit’s Twitter timeline and you will find retweets, tweets, and comments giving a glimpse into COVID-19 requirements in Bengaluru and Mysuru. The musician has joined the army of volunteers who are working individually or in groups big and small, to bridge the gap between medical needs and resources. “The second wave is very severe and intense. I could not keep quiet when people were left to fend for themselves due to lack of health infrastructure. I am participating as a volunteer in my individual capacity with many citizen groups and my followers in Mysuru and Bengaluru to ensure that help reaches on time,” says Dixit who added that this is his first participation in a serious health crisis.
What’s more, the singer has converted his studio into a war room. It consists wide screens displaying his twitter timeline, oxygen cylinder information, bed availability status, plasma donation centres, patient information, and other updates on medical logistics in Mysuru and Bengaluru. “My studio screens display the urgent needs of the people who ask for help on Twitter. We have three digital war rooms in Bengaluru and Mysuru with many volunteers and my fans who follow up on verified leads and help connect patients to the right hospital or medical support,” says the singer.
The experience of h e l p i n g people out over the past 10 days with verified information has left the singer dismayed at the lack of medical equipment and infrastructure in cities. “Sometimes it is very difficult to arrange medical support but I try my best in my capacity. If I don’t have information, I tell people that I don’t have it so that they don’t waste time waiting for me to revert. Citizens cannot take this kind of stress everyday and sustain themselves till the help arrives,” says Dixit.
Fake news too is floating around social media along with desperate pleas for help, and Dixit’s team is trying to tackle that as well. They sift through plain fake news, and check information about medical resources to ensure that it is genuine. Given that there is a shortage of Remdesivir, an anti-inflammatory drug used in COVID-19 treatment, and that there are reports that it is being sold at exorbitant prices, Dixit says, they direct all request for the medicine to respective nodal of ficers in each zone.
As for music, Dixit says other things are more important at present. “I have put a lot of my projects on hold. I have no time for my musical sessions these days. And I am sure daily wage workers in the industry must be going through hell now. It would be great if the association (Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce) helps them out of this crisis soon.”