Coronavirus has taken the centre
stage world over. In the current times, there is nothing more important to see
and talk about other than this deadly virus that has brought everyone at a
standstill. But like they say every coin has two sides; despite its ghastly
effects on the lives of the people who fall sick to bringing down the
world economy, there are some positives also that can’t be ignored.
One of them is bringing people together like never before. In our
country, where a few months ago there were riots and clashes in the name
of religion, today everyone is standing together – not to fight
against each other but to fight towards this virus. People are coming forward
to help those who need a little more than others, without questioning
their nationality or religion or background; finally, a
human being is being considered just
a human being.
These trying times have made us see
and value many superheroes in our daily lives, superheroes that don’t wear
capes, but surely the superheroes that help people, save lives and
strive to make a better tomorrow. In Goa, our hospitality industry is proving
to be one such superhero as they may be out of business, but they are leaving
no stone unturned to make the lives of people better and offer the required
relief to them.
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“Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Goa,
in collaboration with ‘Big Brother’, a non-profit foundation of
Sachin Joshi, has gone the extra mile to provide 1000 meals a day to our
brothers and sisters, who are stranded in Goa due to the lockdown at the
Shri Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium, Navelim. “We have taken the
responsibility of their meals (lunch and dinner) till the lockdown is in
progress. Apart from this large activity, Planet Hollywood has also handed
over bed sheets and head masks to GMC and provides meal
assistance to local health centres. Planet Hollywood has also contributed
in procuring HAZMAT suites in association with BNI, Goa for GMC on appeal of
the Government,” shared Anand Chatterjee, GM of Planet Hollywood Beach Resort
Goa.
ITC Grand Goa has come forward and
provided 1000 shower caps to GMC and beach umbrellas and other hygiene products
to Verna Police Station. The team at ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa also stood
in solidarity on the evening of April 5, 2020 as all lights at the
Resort were turned off at 9 pm for 9 minutes; diyas were lit in the shape
of a ‘Namaste’ to mark India’s fight. Speaking on the occasion,
Bhagwan Balani, General Manager, ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa said, “We are
humbled to do our part by joining the country’s collective resolve for
defeating Coronavirus.”
“As you probably already know,
the Goa government has set up relief camps for labourers and the homeless.
We as Marriott Group (Goa Marriott + LM + W Goa + FF Anjuna) provided some
essential hygiene kits to enable them to stay safe during this lockdown. We
have together handed over around 350 soaps and 500 dental kits for the people
in these camps to the CCP commissioner,” said Gaurav Apte, GM, Goa
Marriott Resort & Spa.
Saurabh Khanna, GM, Park
Hotels, shared how they were doing their part in this fight against
COVID19: “We are working on 3 levels to support the people:
–
Neighbourhood services for any emergency requirement in our
area, where the locals can call the hotel for any emergency
requirement such as supplies, medicines, gas, etc and we will
get it organised for them
– Along
with other hotels, we have been supplying food to orphanages and old age
homes
– Through the Goa
humanitarian helpline, we have been providing support
to the elderly/migrants in our area.”
Big Daddy, Asia’s largest floating
gaming and entertainment destination, has been playing an active role in
combating the crisis that has disrupted the state, country and the world. Big
Daddy has been prompt in disseminating the right information through its
offline and online platforms. Since the news broke out in Goa about the
restrictions due to the pandemic, Big Daddy has been keeping its audience
engaged and educated through its social media pages with posts concerning
safety precautions.
To safeguard the well-being of its
employees and to make sure that they follow the 21-day lockdown, Big Daddy’s
latest initiative is to ensure that its 350+ employees that reside in
the company’s accommodation across Panjim will receive three meals (breakfast,
lunch and dinner) every day at their doorstep. Directors Lakhram Goyal and
Punit Narang are personally looking into the necessary procedures required to
execute this initiative, whereas Head of Finance Amit Garg is procuring the
required permissions for the smooth functioning of the food distribution.
Looking at these initiatives, we
can easily say that Goa is in safe hands and together we all shall overcome
this pandemic very soon, but for now, a moment of appreciation for all
these superheroes without capes!
