Drishti lifeguards rescued an individual from a cave which was rapidly flooding due to the high tide on April 9, 2020. The male who is a Russian national is believed to have been living in the cave for the past few weeks.
During a routine patrol by the lifeguard stationed at the Keri beach area, lifeguard Girish Talkar spotted a man in a small narrow cave along the shoreline. He seemed to be in obvious distress as the cave was flooding rapidly due to the high tide. The male also appeared to be physically challenged as he was unable to walk.
The lifeguard Girish sprang into action and called for back-up. Meanwhile a call was placed for an ambulance and to the police patrol room. Soon after lifeguards Dhako, Jayesh and Vikram joined lifeguard Girish to assist him in the evacuation and rescue operation. The victim was evacuated on a spine board and brought to shore. His vitals were checked and appeared to be normal. The victim was shifted to the ambulance and transported to the PHC at Mapusa.
From conversations with the locals in the area it is believed that the Russian national named Valenti, has been residing in and around the cave for the past few weeks.
Contact has been made with the brother of the victim who is residing in Russia. The Russian embassy has been informed about the incident.
In the Keri and Morjim area a number of international tourists who are stranded in Goa continue to reside at the beach huts along the shore. At noon on the same day locals alerted the police about a party attended by close to 60 foreigners in a forested area at Morjim.

Homage to medical
martyrs in Covid19 battle

By Dr Gourdas Choudhuri

Frontline fighters become the casualty in every battle, and the global Covid-19 war in recent months is no exception.
Of the 50,000 lives that the pandemic has claimed till date, a significant proportion is comprised of healthcare workers, especially nurses, technicians and doctors, who have succumbed while gallantly defending their patients, and humanity.
Of the 3,000 lives lost in China at least 10 have been of doctors. In a report from that country, 29% of 138 infected patients studied in Wuhan (sample) happened to be HCW, who contracted the infection in their line of duty.
The most famous of martyrs is Dr Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist from Wuhan, who was the first to notice something “unusual” about an outbreak of pneumonia, and blow the whistle about a new SARS (Severe Adult Respiratory Syndrome) virus. His story makes for a Shakespearean tragedy: he was initially admonished by the government for “anti-national activities”, he became a victim of the infection he was fighting, and died on February 7, 2020. The government then hailed him a national hero!
Another notable of several deaths is that of Dr John Murray, an American chest specialist who is credited with elucidating our understanding of the SAARS epidemic of 2003, and was internationally hailed as “Lung God.” He succumbed to Covid-19 in France, recently.
The list is long, and is getting longer by the day. In it are Dr Gita Ramjee of Indian origin, an internationally acclaimed HIV expert, and one senior urologist of Mumbai.
We owe these fighters and generals our deepest respect for their sacrifice!

(Courtesy Hindustan Times)