Indian corporates indulge in relief & rescue of Nepal quake victims
The last couple of days have been filled with devastation and loss for Nepal following the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that originated from Pokhara and left Nepal in ruins. But simultaneously there are Indian organisations that have rushed to aid the ones in need. Besides sending relief material to Nepal, corporates too have done their bit to show their support.
Among the most significant initiatives, Facebook launched a special feature on its platform that allows users of the social media to reach out to their friends and confirm their wellness via Facebook’s Safety Check tool. In the last couple of days, millions across India, Nepal, and neighbouring countries have used the feature which indentifies affected people on basis of their location.
Search engine giant Google is also not far behind with its initiative Google Person Finder to connect people hit by the natural disaster. Google in partnership with Red Cross has complied a database of people who have been struck by the natural calamity and their status, it also allows users to update the database that is critical in linking people to their families.
With initiatives from Facebook and Google it can be established that social media can be used effectively at the times to natural disaster and link contact for people who have been affected by the same. Furthermore, government owned carrier Air India has also contributed help by launching two additional flights between Delhi and Kathmandu. It also slashed one way fares between Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi and Kathmandu. Further, it will also carry relief material to Kathmandu free of charge and on priority basis.
In the telecom world, service providers such as MTNL, BSNL, Idea Cellular, MTS India and Tata Teleservices have slashed call rates to Nepal and will be treating all calls to Nepal under local call rates while Bharti Airtel has made all calls to Nepal free of charge for 48 hours in wake of the devastation caused by the earthquake.
There have also been efforts to beef-up food processing in India in order to provide food to earthquake hit victims in Nepal. Golden Temple and Gurdwaras in the India’s national capital have announced that they will be sending food packets to quake victims while foods processing brands such as ITC, Nestle and PepsiCo have donated packets of noodles, among others sending drinking water and Namkeen.
Following such initiatives in the corporate world, global efforts to help the people of earthquake ravaged Nepal has also intensified. Such efforts unite countries across the globe to help the ones in need. Previously, we have seen natural calamity synonymous with all forms of communications shut but this time we saw government and private organisations setting up support for the victims alike.
