Coronavirus-news April 21, 2020
Indian Railways’ to the rescue of teen with autism, sends medicines from Ahmedabad to Ajmer

Last week, the Indian railways sent medicines from Ahmedabad to a teenager with autism living in Ajmer. Due to the lockdown, the family was struggling to procure medicines for the 14 year old boy named Arpit who was under autism spectrum disorder. The kind gesture of Indian railways has won many hearts across India.
23-year-old Hitesh Sharma is a civil services aspirant from Ahmedabad. A few days back, he received a call from his uncle stating that his 14-year-old son Arpit, who is on the spectrum, needs medicines. Due to the lockdown, the family has been unable to get the required medicines.
Hitesh immediately reached out to the Indian Railways who responded promptly. The medicines were sent to Arpit who lives in Ajmer without any delay. This latest gesture to reach out to the child with autism has won hearts across India.
Timely intervention wins hearts
Last week, Mumbai-based mother Neha Kumari tweeted that her son with autism needs camel milk and the family has been unable to get it since no shops were open due to lockdown. Moreover, courier services were also unavailable.
Neha’s tweets reached officials who requested for the help of the Railways. 20 litres of camel milk was sent to the family from Rajasthan in one of the goods train that transported essential commodities between states. The gesture had received a lot of attention from across the country with disability rights group cheering for it.
Arpit’s family is all smiles when they talk about the help that they received. The family was clearly disturbed and worried about Arpit’s health going for a toss without medicines. Since the lockdown was extended to 3 May, it made things more complicated.
Hitesh immediately contacted Ashish Ujlayan, an officer from the Ahmedabad division of the Indian Railways. With the help of the officer, Hitesh procured the medicines from Ahmedabad and sent it in a goods train to Ajmer on 15 April. It reached there the next day.
Indian railways receives praise
Many people took to social media to express their happiness over the railways’ kind gesture.
Hitesh has been quoted saying to the Press Trust of India, “It is unbelievable. I called them for help and within 15 hours, the medicines reached my cousin in Ajmer in a parcel train. If this had not happened with me, I would not have believed it”.
“Another Great Work By Indian Railways! This time for a teenager reportedly suffering From ADHD, Autism With OCD Who Needed Psychiatry Drugs on a regular basis”, tweeted Dr Jhunu Mukherjee.
The lockdown has been extended to another two weeks. The Indian Railways has shown yet again that they are going to help people in need during these tough times.
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