A Brave Policeman And Cartoonists Of Kerala Unite Against Coronavirus

When G. N. Ravikumar donned the Karnataka Police uniform less than three months ago, he may never have imagined that he would become a star in such a short time. But that's precisely what has happened, thanks to Ravikumar's bravery and quick thinking. 

Posted at the Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, where many migrant labourers, affected by the coronavirus lockdown were put up in temporary sheds, Ravikumar had taken shelter under one of the sheds when the roof collapsed due to heavy rain, trapping scores of people under it.

Without thinking about rushing to safety himself, Ravikumar put his duty of protecting the people first. Noticing that another portion of the roof had not come down yet but was soon about to, he asked the people under it to vacate and guided all of them, women and children included, to a safe place within the same area. He didn’t rest until he had evacuated every single one of them.

According to the local media, a tree had fallen, due to heavy winds, over one of the structures leading to its collapse. It later came to light that Ravikumar was the only policeman at the Palace Grounds⁠—the only person who could have ensured the safety of the 200 migrants at the site. He rushed to ask for reinforcements while telling the migrants not to make a dash for the structure to salvage their belongings. There were no injuries or loss of life, thanks to the young constable.

The police higher-ups were quick to recognize Ravikumar's commendable job. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao presented him with a cash reward of ₹10,000 and a letter of appreciation, recently.

Source: Deccan Herald  

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Spreading Awareness Through Cartoons 

Several well-known cartoonists in Kerala recently moved out of their drawing desks and chose a wall in Kozhikode to draw cartoons and spread awareness about the dangers of the coronavirus.

This initiative was part of a combined effort by the Kerala Social Security Mission and the Kerala Cartoon Academy. The cartoonists let their imagination and creativity soar⁠—and within a day, the wall of a school along a busy road was full of large cartoons with humorous takes on the pandemic and what could it mean to flout the rules prescribed by the government.

According to Mathrubhumi, one of the cartoons has the well-known Malayalam movie character 'Shammi' mouthing his punchline, “Shammi heroyada hero”, with the message below it saying, "If you take care, you are a hero; otherwise you will be a zero." There is another cartoon in which the coronavirus is shown laughing and latching on to a bike-rider whose mask has come off, obviously to emphasize the importance of wearing a mask.

The same group had previously drawn cartoons to show their appreciation towards front-line workers like doctors, nurses and the police. The cartoonists in the group included K. Unnikrishnan, Davinchi Suresh, Kalesh Ponnappan, P. Suresh Haripad, Sajeev Sooranad and Saneesh Divakaran.

With their efforts being appreciated by the public, the cartoonists now plan to have such walls painted in all the districts of the state. Why should only Kozhikode have all the fun?

Source: Mathrubhumi