Kolkata girl offers no-rent flats to ostracized doctors, nurses – Times of India

KOLKATA: At a time when doctors and nurses treating Covid-19 patients are fighting a daily battle—at hospital and in neighbourhoods, where they have been ostracized for “handling infection”—a final-year student at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) convinced her father to give out their two flats rent free to these health workers.
After the 26-year-old made a post on the social media, two doctors and a nurse got in touch with her on Thursday.
Suchana Saha had been upset ever since she read about the humiliation and abuse that the frontline health workers treating Covid-19 patients faced. Her businessman father owns two flats in Nagerbazar that had been given out on rent till six months ago. “On Thursday, I asked my father if we could give them out to accommodate displaced doctors and nurses treating Covid-19 patients. This will be our small contribution in the fight against the virus. We will not take any rent from boarders,” Saha said.

The two flats are in this building
Her father, Pranab Kumar Saha, was more than happy to help out. His only condition has been that the two flats will be given to only “displaced doctors and nurses handling people infected with novel coronavirus”. “I own two of the 16 flats in a building. When my daughter came up with this idea, I got in touch with the person who handles the matters related to those flats. He promised there would be no problem if these flats are given out to boycotted doctors and nurses,” he said.
Since Thursday, Saha’s post had been shared 1.4k times. “Some doctors even called up saying they would pay rent. But we said we would not take the payment as it would defeat the purpose,” he added.

A screenshot of the post Suchana shared
One of the callers was a nurse from Uluberia who works at a state-run hospital. “She told me she had been putting up at the hospital for two days. Two doctors from private hospitals have also got in touch. I have asked them to visit with ID-proof documents,” she said.
Since the flats have not been in use for six months, they need cleaning and sanitization before use. Suchana’s brother, Swarnabh, next-door neighboor, Tapasi Mondal, and cook, Jyotsna Mondal, helped her in the first round of cleaning. “My ISC has just got over. Way before the lockdown started, my sister cautioned all of us at home about how this disease might impact us. It was her idea to give out these flats,” said the 18-year-old, picking up a broom to clean the flats.

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