Amid the nationwide lockdown owing to the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic, homeless people and daily wage workers, who migrate to big cities from their home towns in search of jobs, are combating hunger for survival as the fast-spreading disease has now created a panic situation across India.
The situation had gone from bad to worse and during this crisis, celebrities, entrepreneurs, businessmen rose to the occasion by doing their best to help the country combat the pandemic.
There have been 181,796 confirmed coronavirus cases in India including 5,185 deaths. So far 82,369 people have recovered from the coronavirus epidemic.
One must imagine how difficult it is from being thousands of km away from home during this coronavirus crisis. With lack of income, several migrants workers are facing tough times while staying in different cities. Meanwhile, in the need of this hour, Sonu Sood has been truly sensational when it comes to helping people in this nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
“Villain on the screen and hero off the screen” is the best phrase to describe Sonu Sood. One of the most loved citizens in India has helped migrant workers (who got stuck in Maharashtra) by making all possible travel arrangements for them in this nationwide lockdown. He arranged 10 buses for the hundreds of migrants who got stuck in the city owing to the epidemic, reports Times of India.
On top of that, Sonu Sood got all the permission required from the Karnataka and Maharashtra governments respectively and after which he made travel and food arrangements to accommodate all the migrants.
The actor added that during the current global crisis, “every Indian deserves to be with their families and dear ones.” He also thanked the government officials for all their help in sending the migrants back home. Sonu Sood had not only sponsored the travel but also offered meal kits for the workers. “It was really moving for me to watch these migrants walking on roads including the little kids and old parents. I shall continue doing the same for other states as well to the best of my abilities,” Sonu said.
Sonu Sood offered his hotel in Mumbai as a residential facility to help healthcare workers in this crisis and also provided PPE kits for doctors too.
Sonu Sood has once again arranged buses and also sought permission to send 500 migrant workers go home in Uttar Pradesh.
It should be noted that the Uttar Pradesh government has sealed the borders in an attempt to prevent the entry of coronavirus carriers. However, Sonu Sood sought permission from District Magistrates of Lucknow and Siddharthnagar and eventually made this possible.
“I am grateful to my friend and Additional Director General (ADG), Lucknow Zone – Satya Narain Sabat – for getting me required permissions. Another friend Neeti Goel also helped me and we are providing people with food, rations, medicines and PPE kits as well,” he told The Times Of India.
In addition, Sonu Sood opened a call-centre with helpline number to help more migrants reach home.
India Today quoted him saying, “I was getting a lot of calls, thousands of calls every day. My family and friends were busy collecting the data then we realised we might miss out on a lot of people who we will not be able to approach us. So we decided to open this call centre, it is a toll-free number,” Sood said.
Sonu Sood had also arranged Chartered Flight for 177 migrant women workers who got stuck in Kerala. The Indian actor had arranged special aircraft for the migrant workers after learning about their plight from a close friend.
The Youth salutes Sonu Sood for his humble work in this ongoing coronavirus crisis.