Kolkata, May 9 (PTI) Amid the raging second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has left many gasping for breath, people from all walks of life, including celebrities, religious leaders and citizen volunteers, have stepped in to help the ones in need, some with medical services and others with social media updates on hospital beds and oxygen support.

A group of film personalities in Bengal have collaborated and set up an interim relief centre for COVID-19 patients who are waiting to get admitted in hospitals.

The individuals have also formed a social media platform -- Citizens' Response - where they provide timely inputs on the availability of medical oxygen at various places and other necessary healthcare facilities.

Taking to Facebook, the group, which has actors Parambrata Chatterjee, Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Riddhi Sen, and music composer-singer Anupam Roy as members, shared helpline numbers that will be operational round the clock.

"We will be providing medical supplies and oxygen to the needy. The help lines will enable one and all to get in touch with us," Mukherjee, who made his mark in films such as 'Generation Ami' and 'Open Tee Bioscope', told PTI on Sunday.

Another member, Piya Chakraborty, said the interim relief centre, set up by the team in association with Kandarpapur Welfare Society, near Patuli area on the southern fringes of the city, will provide preliminary care to the patients, with doctors attending to them from time to time.

As of now, the centre has five beds, but plans are underway to increase the number to 10, she said.

Chatterjee, who had been regularly sharing posts on availability of oxygen and hospital beds, said, "We have all come together and raised funds to fight the pandemic."

The actor-director further said, "From this one relief centre, we wish to start more in the future."

In yet another noble initiative, a gurdwara in the city has made arrangements for beds equipped with oxygen support on the premises of the shrine.

Satnam Singh Ahluwalia, the general secretary of the gurdwara in Behala, said people will have to furnish prescriptions from authorised doctors and an Aadhaar card to avail the service.

The 'sewa' is available free of cost on a first-come- first-serve basis, he said.

A prominent school in south Kolkata has opened its doors and hearts in the midst of the crisis, with its alumni association, along with the youth wing of the Confederation of Indian Industries here, setting up a facility on its premises for sample collection at an affordable rate, one of its officials said.

Starting Sunday, the walk-in facility, powered by a diagnostic centre, will be open for the general public from 9.30 am to 3 pm, he said.

"The tests are priced at Rs 500 each and reports will be made available by the end of next day," the official added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)