Team Deepender, a ray of hope for the sick
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 29
At a time when Covid cases are spiraling out of control and hospitals and cremation grounds are shrinking under the unprecedented load of patients and the dead, Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda and his 250-plus team’s efforts have come as a ray of hope to those finding every other door shut on them.
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From arranging beds to organising oxygen cylinders, from arranging plasma to providing food at the doorstep of Covid families irrespective of which corner of the state the demand comes from, he and his team are all over — doing their bit, making a difference, touching lives and providing yeoman service when the agony of pandemic times is overwhelming.
Also helping BJP, RSS men
- Even BJP has approached the Team Deepender for help; this is despite the fact that the BJP is in government in Haryana
- A BJP leader from Bhiwani approached Deepender Hooda for oxygen cylinders on his Twitter handle
- An RSS worker has thanked Team Deepender for help and said none of the BJP ministers helped him when in need
Using Twitter to reach out to people, Deepender Hooda began building up his team when the second wave of Covid came knocking in Maharashtra.
“Team Deepender was set up in 2012 as a non-political body and we provided all possible help by giving ration and helping migrants during the first wave. As soon as the cases began rising in Maharashtra recently, we roped in 10 volunteers from every district to create a network while we had the time. These were completely different from party workers. They were essentially people who had the wherewithal to extend help in case of a crisis — a farmer who could spare grain, a president of a chemist association, somebody willing to give back to society and extend all sorts of help,” the MP who has become the go-to person for assistance, says.
Before the pandemic messed up Delhi, Hooda’s ground work was complete. “We began with just about 50 requests for help a day. This number has grown to 5,000 in three weeks of which nearly 2,000 requests are coming from Delhi. I hardly get sleep and our team is delivering oxygen and medicine well past midnight or into the wee hours,” he explains, adding that seven people are constantly monitoring the requests flooding his Twitter account and responding to those.
Just being there is making a difference for the people running from pillar to post for beds, harried by black marketeers making a quick buck out of the people’s misery.
Receive 5,000 requests a day
We began with just about 50 requests for help a day. This number has increased to 5,000 in three weeks. About 2,000 requests are from Delhi. My team is delivering oxygen and medicine well past midnight or into the wee hours
Deepender Hooda’s Twitter handle is flooded with messages of gratitude and that’s where he and his team members are drawing energy to keep going through trying times.
Holding two meetings a day, the team organises its resources through the day.
“Though our focus has been Haryana and its people, we are helping out with resources even in Delhi whenever possible,” he said.
While his parents, CLP leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Asha Hooda, are still recuperating in hospital after getting infected, the MP is leaving no stone unturned in procuring drugs.
As he and his team work tirelessly, Deepender is very clear that this is the time to be there for the people and that politics and blame games can wait until another time.
