Tisca Chopra calls out the ‘shameful neglect of governance’ amid Covid-19 second wave

In these testing times when the second wave of Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in the country, actor Tisca Chopra has stepped up in big way and is working round the clock to help people in need via social media. She has been amplyfying thousands of requests of people asking for oxygen, plasma, medicines and hospital beds.

“We understand that it is [about] a life, one cry for help is [to save] one life. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night if I wasn’t doing something to help people at this time; my conscience would kill me,” she tells us, adding, “It’s just shameful neglect of governance and I think all of us feel that very strongly. Despite that, if every single person steps up and helps two-three others around them, the problem can be mitigated. Last year was the trailer, this year is the main film — and it’s a horror.”

The actor-director received the first cry for help around mid-April, after which there have only been more and more of them.

“I took to social media to say that if anybody needs anything they should let me know and I’d try my best to help them out by amplifying their request. Lots of people who needed oxygen or plasma or hospital beds started to reach out and we started to amplify,” she says.

In order to help maximum people, Chopra, 47, reveals that an informal sort of group was formed — consisting a bunch of like-minded individuals — categorising, filtering and forwarding requests according to the city and what they needed.

“There’s a group for plasma, there’s a group for Delhi, and then Mumbai. We’re reaching out to whoever we know. If I know somebody in the South (of India), an actor or someone prominent, I reach out to them also, and then those people, in turn, start asking their network down south and so on. We’re using whatever we have, personal contacts, even cold calling someone or sending a DM to someone on Twitter who one doesn’t know personally… that’s how we’re working,” shares Chopra, acknowledging the efforts of “many hard working young volunteers, who are working roun the clock for 24 hours”.

Noting how oxygen is what most people are requesting for, she adds, “That has been in shockingly short supply. So, we’re arranging cylinders, refills, cans, whatever is manageable, we’re trying to get it to people who need it.”