Swara Bhasker: Time of great difficulty and great hope

Actress Swara Bhasker has helped 22 workers stuck in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh to return home in Bihar.

"I am using my Twitter account as a platform for something constructive and participating in the relief efforts around COVID 19. I have been collaborating with different groups and individuals and then heard of these migrants stuck in Vizag," Swara said.

"I was so pleased with the whole prompt actions taken by the police and especially IPS Vishal Gunni. He got in touch with the district collector in Vizag and processed everything within 4-5 days. Meanwhile, I was in touch with the migrants and got their payments cleared after speaking to their project manager who was also very co-operative. They also had some cash for their journey back to Bihar in a bus arranged by Vizag district administration, which was very quick," she added.

The actress feels "this is a time of great difficulty but also of great hope".

"Because I have seen people within the bureaucracy and system who have come to help the migrants. This has also been my experience when 100 migrants were stuck out of Bahadurgarh. The administration of Haryana was very helpful. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me and the migrants, especially Vishal Gunni, Mohammad Shaheen, the AP police and Haryana Administration," she added.

Earlier, Swara opened up how she is using social media to get in touch with stranded people, and helping them get home.

"I drove from Mumbai to Delhi when my mother fractured her shoulder and I felt very guilty about the fact that I was able to make the road trip but lakhs of Indians could not get to their homes," Swara said.

"So once I came to Delhi, I started collaborating with organisations and NGOs that have been working with certain leaders to send migrants home. I started collecting information via social media about who was stuck where, calling them and ensuring that they got seats on buses or trains that were leaving Delhi. It is completely a team effort and I'm humbled to see how hard people and on ground volunteers are working to make a difference," she added.

The actress helped 1350 migrants get tickets in Shramik special trains to send them home to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. She also distributed footwear to those who couldn't afford it and distributed daily essentials to the migrants.