Lockdown impact: Social activist Nafisa Ali stuck in Goa, calls for help, her cancer medicines running out

Actor and social activist Nafisa Ali 's cancer remission  medicines are running out and there is no way she can get it till the lockdown is called off. Nafisa who is currently in Morjim which is small village in Goa says, “I had come to Goa for 10 days but got stuck here after the lockdown was announced by the prime minister. My cancer remission medicine is also running out and we cannot get it here in Goa.”

Nafisa has been only getting to eat dal and rice as there are no vegetable vendors allowed to sell and the grocery shops are shut and they were shut immediately after the lockdown was announced,

She adds “We cannot take our car or scooter out to go out in search for food or grocery. If these vendors do come out the cops are hitting them. I have been seeing visuals where the cops turning the vegetable carts upside down and destroying vegetables which is much needed today.  This is shocking and I am so emotionally disturbed to see the police hit them when people are starving without food.''

Nafisa Ali's daughter lives close by which helped her in getting some vegetables.  Her daughter even went searching for the medicine needed but couldn’t find them. She said, “we don’t get the medicine here. My husband who is in Delhi has bought them but there is no courier service as the entire country is under lockdown.''

Nafisa who is cancer survivor and a senior citizen is angry and upset with the system. She complains, “ how can we walk kilometres in search of food and essentials items in the heat. ''

But did you reach out to the authorities or the chief minister of Goa? On this She answered, “we haven’t heard anything from him but we did speak to the panchayat people that there could be volunteers of young people who can go door to door to check what people and seniors want and then they can help in making it available to them.”

“But we were told there are no volunteers to do that service. You know there is a pao wala service-- they move around on their vehicles honking--that is also stopped. At least that can be restarted and they can be used to help people get essential commodities,'' she added.

When told that airlines have opened booking and airlines will get operational from April 14, Nafisa said, “I will go back to Delhi.”