Mangaluru: Uma Rani Madhusudhana, one of the front-line warriors in the battle against Covid-19 in Mysuru, was offered a tribute in the United States of America (USA), where her dedicated service was acknowledged with a drive-by salute. On Wednesday, Mangaluru city police, inspired by the gesture in distant USA, decided to offer a similar tribute to the healthcare personnel, which let not only those being saluted, but the whole of Kudla overwhelmed. In fact, the healthcare personnel grew so ecstatic that they have announced their intention to convey their appreciation for those in khaki soon.
The drive-by salute offered by the cops was streamed live on the Mangaluru city police commissioner’s official twitter handle @compolmlr. Mangaluru city commissioner PS Harsha sent out a tweet after 8am, informing those on the web about the event planned ahead in the day. The tweet received 55 retweets. The drive-by salute started, as was announced, at 11am, and the attendance of the top brass of the Dakshina Kannada police attested to the earnestness of the effort. Police patrol vehicles, with their lights flashing and sirens blaring, circled in salute to those staking their lives to save those of their fellow countrymen.
Dakshina Kannada district health officer Ramachndra Bairy was given a bouquet at the end of the heart-warming fare by deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh as an additional token of appreciation. Police and officials of the district administration dedicated the tribute to the sanitisation workers, laboratory technicians, ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and administrative staff of Wenlock Hospital, the designated healthcare facility in the district for Covid-19 infection.
“You are toiling day and night to control the pandemic, and we (police) are with you in this effort,” said Harsha.
Sindhu said that the event helped reinforce the amount of attention and care that the rank and file of the health department in the district was displaying in their treatment of infected patients and those in quarantine.
Dr Annayya Kulal, president of the Mangaluru unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that doctors and healthcare staff would hold a similar event to showcase their appreciation for police. Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat chief executive officer R Selvamani pointed to the testimony of Saleem Hegde, a patient who was cured of Covid-19 and discharged subsequently, as proof of the efforts of the medical fraternity in the district.
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu police in Tirunelveli too had saluted the efforts of the sanitisation workers with a guard of honour. The video, wherein the Tirunelveli deputy commissioner of police led the guard of honour, had gone viral and helped spread cheer among the people amidst the gloom of the pandemic and lockdown.