BENGALURU : What began as a hundred phone calls in March, has snowballed into around a thousand calls a day from people reaching out to actor Bhuvan Ponnanna seeking oxygen and ICU beds for loves ones sick with Covid-19. He and Harshika Poonacha are among several Sandalwood celebrities who have jumped into the unfolding crisis to lend a hand.
“It began when he shared his phone number on Facebook at he start of the second wave,” Poonacha says. Initially, he got around 200 calls, and now it has turned into around a thousand. They now have nine volunteers, and have formed 10 WhatsApp groups and one Telegram group to keep pace with the flood of requests for resources.
“We’ve managed to save close to 170 lives by providing ICU beds and other medical facilities. By doing these small things, I feel as if my life is of some value,” Poonacha says. On Friday, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar inaugurated two projects - Shwasa and Bandhawa - launched by the two Sandalwood actors.
Poonacha says they set up the Oxygen Express buses under the Shwasa programme as Oxygen is in scarce supply and people are even dying in front of hospitals as they do not get in time.
At present two buses would be fitted with five oxygen concentrators each and staffed with two nurses working in shifts. They would be parked near Victoria Hospital and Bowring Hospitals. “People struggling to breathe could get oxygen sitting in the bus while they wait for a bed to be allotted. The service is free,” Poonacha says. CS Water Proofing Solution and Bhuvanam Foundation are funding the oxygen concentrators.
She said talks are on to tie up with various hospitals and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
The Bandhava programme - an initiative by the Bhuvanam Foundation - will use autorickshaws to deliver essentials, and even oxygen, to Covid patients recovering or isolating at home.“Since BBMP has put posts in front of their gates, many hesitate to deliver medicines or essential items, and we are connecting with these people. We currently have five autos, and volunteers will do the needful,” she says.
Although the two actors are focusing on Bengaluru, they haven’t forgotten their fellow artistes and other workers in the film industry. They have given grocery kits to production staff. This initiative, which both Ponnanna and Poonacha handle, is currently being done through their savings. The two actors have also travelled to different cities in the state distributing grocery kits and food packets under their ongoing project Feed Karnataka.