The ongoing pandemic has given birth to many heroes. We all have come across many examples in the last few months who went on to become an inspiration to all of us. Be it a mother riding on an Activa for hundreds of kilometres to get her son back or few Samaritans trying their best to help the needy amidst such troublesome times. A Chandigarh-based businessman, Kunal Malik has set another example as he has launched a unique driver-friendly cab service for Covid-19 patients dubbed as ‘Desh’.
Inspiration
He has taken a cue from PM Narendra Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat to launch the cab service. Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign focuses on self-reliant India.
While speaking to ANI, Kunal Malik explained how Desh works. Patients can make a call to Desh centres for a cab, following which the driver would arrive at his residence in three minutes in PPE kits and the vehicle would have a partition as well. “We provide special cabs for Covid-19 patients. The family members of the patients can call our centres for special cabs for them. Our company provides cabs to Covid-19 patients, with the driver wearing PPE suits and the cab has a partition. We also provide masks, face shield and hand sanitisers to drivers for protection,” he added.
Pointing out the benefits extended to the drivers, he said, “Our operation is totally different from other cab services. Our service is driver-friendly. We only charge the minimum amount, so the maximum benefit is available to them.” This innovative idea reflects the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat as PM Narendra Modi explained it in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme, “Everyone believes in the ability of Indians to innovate and present solutions and when there is a feeling of dedication and compassion then this power becomes limitless. At the beginning of this month, the country’s youth were given an app innovation challenge.”
Another example
The main takeaway from the current global pandemic is social distancing, which has gradually become the norm now. It would be safe to assume that we will keep practising it even after the pandemic is over. Indians have a way to come up with a creative and innovative outlook even towards the most critical things. We always figure our way around things. Another inspiring example came in the form of an e-rickshaw driver who divided his vehicle into four separate compartments to accommodate passengers. He also garnered praises from Anand Mahindra. The driver has divided the seating area into four separate compartments so the passengers cannot come in contact with each other, therefore, successfully practising social distancing.
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Anand Mahindra lauded the efforts put in by the humble e-rickshaw driver and also asked Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director – auto and farm sector to onboard him as an advisor for the R&D as well as product development teams. Appreciating someone on Twitter is respectable but going ahead and pulling off what Anand Mahindra did, is something else entirely. He wrote on Twitter, “The capabilities of our people to rapidly innovate and adapt to new circumstances never ceases to amaze me.”