This woman auto driver from Manipur drove 140 km to drop a COVID-19 discharged patient
Eche Laibi Oinam drove about 140 km from Imphal to the Kamjong district in her autorickshaw to drop off a COVID-19 recovered patient.
With Unlock 1.0 and the night curfew relaxed till 9 pm, people stepping out of their houses has increased drastically as compared to the earlier lockdown periods. Consequently, there has been a significant surge in the number of positive coronavirus cases in India, reaching close to 3.3 lakh.
In such difficult times, a woman autorickshaw driver drove for almost 140 km to help a COVID-19 recovered patient back to her place.
After the patient, Somichon Chithung, was discharged from Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, Manipur, the hospital’s ambulance service refused to take her home, stating that she was from another district.
Laibi Oinam (Image: The Better India)
It was at that time that Eche Laibi Oinam, a mother of two, volunteered to drive the 22-year-old Chithung to her home in the Kamjong district on the night of May 31, covering an eight-hour journey.
Eche Laibi had told EastMojo earlier, “I was happy that I was at least there for the girl to help, though we were strangers to each other then.”
Recognising her efforts, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, along with a group of MLAs, and other well-wishers, awarded Eche Laibi with a cash reward of Rs 1.10 lakh.
“The cash reward was sponsored by some entrepreneurs from Manipur along with the diaspora in the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore as an encouragement for her humane and heroic act and service,” a statement from CM’s Secretariat read, according to the Hindustan Times.
Chief Minister N. Biren Singh also tweeted the same through his personal Twitter handle.
While India has close to 3.3 lakh cases with about 9,523 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the northeastern state of Manipur has recorded less than 400 cases with no deaths so far.
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Edited by Suman Singh
