New Delhi: England’s premier league football team Arsenal took to Instagram Friday to express solidarity with Assam which is reeling under floods and a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus.
“We are with you…stay strong, Assam,” said the popular football club based in Islington, London.
The Arsenal Football Club is one of the top six English premier league teams. It is also the most successful London club and has won 13 league titles since its inception in 1893.
Soon after Arsenal’s post, actor Adil Hussain, of the Life of Pi and English Vinglish fame, took to Twitter to throw light on the lack of concern shown by “celebrities, mainstream media and cricket stars” across India on the floods in Assam.
Arsenal FC #ArsenalFC @Arsenal stands with Assamese People. I don't understand why, then, our Celebrities, Mainstream Media, Cricket Stars are not raising their voices in support of Assamese people! So disappointed with you all.
Arsenal Footbal Club UK https://t.co/SrgSzYhtHC
— Adil hussain (@_AdilHussain) July 17, 2020
The Dalai Lama also wrote to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday expressing his concern and solidarity with the flood-ravaged state.
“I am writing to you today to express my sadness at the loss of life and devastation of property, as well as the tremendous hardship caused to so many due to flooding in many parts of your state,” his letter read.
He also announced donation for relief and rescue efforts from the Dalai Lama Trust.
In response, Sonowal tweeted saying, “On behalf of the people of Assam, my heartfelt thanks to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for his blessings and kind gesture of solidarity & support to all affected by.”
Also read: Covid forced them out of cities, now the Bramhaputra is forcing them to move homes in Assam
‘Over 19,000 Covid cases, 92 killed in floods’
Sonowal has been visiting flood relief camps in Dibrugarh, Jonai, Teok and other severely-affected areas of the state to ensure sufficient food and relief materials are being supplied.
On Thursday, he sent out a tweet during one of his visits to a flood-relief camp at Kohora near the Kaziranga National Park. Sonowal said the state government was “leaving no stone unturned” in safeguarding the lives of people and animals.
Floods in Assam take place every monsoon due to the unstable Brahmaputra. This year, however, the situation is much worse due to an ongoing pandemic.
The state has so far recorded over 19,000 Covid-19 cases and 48 deaths, while the floods have claimed the lives of at least 92 people and 76 animals, affecting nearly 40 lakh in 27 of its 33 districts and submerging almost all of the 430 square kilometers of the Kaziranga National Park.
Also read: Covid hit first, then floods — how Assam’s Goalpara handled both with ‘no time to prepare’
Although it is good to see a national news medium is covering the Assam Floods issue, I had more expectations from the Print than just putting together excerpts from here and there in a non-cohesive piece and calling it a news. Alas my comment here will probably be seen as Shekhar Gupta will put it – “Roj ka rona dhona”.
The news media is in a crisis and Taran Deol is definitely not fixing it.
Nice to have a day