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Hello,
As the second wave of Covid devastates us, many are battling on the frontlines - doctors, medical workers, sanitation staff, amongst others. But there is another set of people who are out there in the Covid trenches too – the journalists.
Unheralded and unsung, they perform a critical public service during the pandemic – reporting from the epicentre of the crisis, informing the public, keeping the state machinery on their toes, marking out the heroes, and importantly, filtering fact from the chaff.
On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day this week – on May 3 – we pay tribute to those journalists who bravely, unmindful of the risks, continue to keep their ears to the ground and get their feet muddy.
The weekly newsletters from the Foundation, over the past 57 weeks, have been a chronicle of, and a tribute to, the work of these innumerous journalists, who have been the flag-bearers of a truly free and independent media.
As in past weeks, and in this edition too, our grantees bring you reports from the frontline of the pandemic.
As India gasps for oxygen, Mojo Story reports from the tribal district of Nandurbar in Maharashtra where the district collector Dr Rajendra Bharud’s prescience and planning not only ensured that the district has enough oxygen for its own needs, when the second wave struck, but could also accommodate patients from outside the district. A template for the rest of India.
Max Maharashtra delves into the plight of an elderly couple in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra who face stigmatisation and ostracisation after their family members test positive for Covid.
Nuapada, a district in Orissa, offers a snapshot of what is wrong in India’s battle against Covid. As the caseload and fatalities swell and oxygen is hard to come by, the district administration is in a constant state of denial. A recipe for a looming disaster. Down to Earth brings you the story.
Khabar Lahariya goes to villages in Chitrakoot district in Madhya Pradesh to find patients of malaria and typhoid struggling to access medical care as government hospitals are saturated with Covid patients.
And, Alt News calls out a doctor who posted a video advocating the use of a nebulizer as an alternative to proper medical-oxygen equipment.
For these stories and more from our grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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