Businessman Flies Stranded Employees And Police In Chennai Help Coronavirus-Affected

A Kerala-born businessman in the Gulf is arranging chartered flights for all his employees who are stranded in the United Arab Emirates to return to India. R. Hari Kumar, the chairman of the Elite Group in Sharjah, recently chartered a flight to bring 120 of his employees to Kochi, and he is planning to bring more who are willing to come back to their native places in Kerala.

Kumar has also offered to employ the migrants in a company facility in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu if they want to work in India. Thousands of Indian migrants are stranded in the Gulf countries after they lost their jobs.

According to a report, not only was the flight expense borne by Kumar, the workers were also given an extra month’s salary, along with some gifts. Meanwhile, Kumar is arranging for another chartered flight to bring back Keralites in the Gulf who are unable to afford tickets.

Hailing from Alappuzha, Kumar left for the Gulf more than 20 years ago, going on to build a multi-million dollar company that manufactures industrial aluminium products.

Source: Hindustan Times

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Police think out of the box to help coronavirus-hit citizens

Separate WhatsApp groups to keep in touch with COVID-19 patients and corona warriors, networking with local philanthropists and a crowdfunding initiative to bring help to those in desperate need—these are some activities you would expect from NGOs and individual Good Samaritans. But, this time, the Chennai police seems to have jumped on the bandwagon too.

“The main aim of these initiatives was to give confidence to those affected by COVID-19,” explained M.S. Bhaskar, assistant commissioner of police of Royapettah in Chennai where  scores of people are under quarantine. The New Indian Express quoted Bhaskar as saying that the volunteers went around distributing various immunity-boosting foods and  groceries and other essentials to those in quarantine.

Under another police jurisdiction, police inspector E. Rajeswari helped migrant labourers with food and other provisions during the lockdown.

Police have also created some WhatsApp groups to bust myths regarding the coronavirus and motivate those who may be feeling down and out due to the virus. Experts who have been roped in under this initiative also provide tips on how to take care of the elderly in the family.

Chennai remains one of the worst coronavirus-affected cities in Tamil Nadu, but these initiatives will surely boost the morale of the citizens.

Source: New Indian Express