Valued in gold: Mumbai MP honours Covid warriors with gold coins

To encourage Covid-19 warriors in a unique way, Mumbai MP Gopal Shetty has felicitated 30 of them by gifting them Rs 5,000 in cash and a gold coin weighing one gram. These warriors include security guards, sanitation workers and administrative staff.

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Shetty, a senior BJP leader, is an MP from Mumbai North which is currently the worst-affected area in India's financial capital.

The Satra Park Cooperative Housing Society organised the felicitation ceremony in Borivali. Shetty also inaugurated a Covid care centre that the society had set up within its premises. This centre has a capacity of 12 patients.

"I aim to ensure that all of us contribute our efforts in every way possible, in the coronavirus crisis. I also hope that these positive efforts will guide us collectively on a path away from our current situation," said Shetty.
He had appealed to the Mumbai administration, seeking approval for private housing societies to develop Covid care centres within their compounds.

"I am grateful that the administration has agreed to this demand and am seeing many societies step forward and take the necessary steps to develop these centres," added Shetty.
The area's legislator Sunil Rane was also present at the event.

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Shetty has taken up many causes to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic in the city.
A month ago, he had partnered with former minister Dr Deepak Sawant to inaugurate a Covid care centre in Pawandham, Mahavir Nagar in Kandivali.

The centre has six doctors, eight RMOs and 50 nursing staff, alongside necessary medical equipment like X-ray machines, ECG machines, cylinders with liquid oxygen and monitoring equipment.

Jain spiritual leader Namramuni Maharaj had blessed the centre, set up in the premises of a Jain temple.

Since then, this centre, which provides free medical care, has helped 325 patients so far, with 200 of them recovering from the dreaded disease. Out of these 325, 22 patients are still at the centre, while the conditions for two have worsened to critical care and ventilator support.

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He has also helped in organising additional beds in Covid wards for the Miti Life hospital, Rustomjee, Dahisar (47 beds), Punjabi Galli, Borivali west (120 beds), ESIC Hospital (250 beds) and Bhagwati Hospital (80 beds).

"By boosting the infrastructure for these hospitals, we're ensuring rapid, round- the-clock medical care for people in Northern Mumbai during the current Covid crisis. Apart from private hospitals, people can visit these centres for affordable and timely healthcare avenues," Shetty added.

Shetty has received support from multiple NGOs, including the IBIF Cooperative Society, Ekta Meadows Society, Jai Cooperative Housing Society, Biplex Habitat Cooperative Housing Society, Kandivali Vishdeep Society, Tilak Complex, Gurukul Society and Sita Park Society.