UDUPI: At the age of 60, Dinesh Pai need not hop on to his bicycle and peddle around Gopalapura and Subrahmanya Nagar wards of Udupi, identifying families which have contracted Covid-19, checking on them and delivering groceries. Especially when senior citizens are advised reverse quarantine to stay safe.
Pai, a nominated councillor of Udupi CMC, doesn’t even give a thought to the open heart surgery he underwent about 10 years ago, and instead, keeps tabs on those who might go hungry if he doesn’t go out and deliver essentials. He reminds us that primary contacts of Covid-19 patients cannot go out on errands.
So every day, Pai dons the role of Covid warrior from 8 am to 1 pm. He buys up groceries and visits houses where patients are convalescing. Pai has helped others too, providing more than 50 grocery kits to the needy.
He does a survey to find out whose income source is hit by the lockdown and reaches out to assist them. Prabhakar Shettigar, who works in a garment shop in Udupi, has been unemployed since the lockdown was imposed. Pai was at his doorstep, a smile on his face, to give him hope that all would be well and this is just a “temporary victory” for the unseen virus.
‘‘What is your worry other than temporary loss of job? I am there to help you. ” Shettigar recalls Pai’s words. ‘‘We knew Pai as a social worker, but his style of working is exceptional.’’ Jayakar Amin, a mason, told TNIE that if not for Pai, many people in their wards would have faced unbearable suffering.