Duty Comes First! - PK Pattnaik

 

“I work as the Chief Nodal Officer in the Covid hospital that KIMS has volunteered to run on the request of the Honourable CM. Physically, my team and I usually work for 12 hours, but mentally, it feels like a 24*7 job. We have to be on our toes any time an emergency arises and be alert and remain dedicated to the job all the time, as there is no alternative to this. 

The one memory that I will always cherish, even after the battle ends, would be when I gave my first motivational speech to the doctors and nurses. It felt as if I was preparing a regiment of soldiers, going into war. They were a bunch of youngsters with a long life ahead of them. They didn’t know the magnitude of risk that was going to befall them. But, they were eager and passionate to fulfil their duties. Their courage and sacrifice was also acknowledged by the IAF when they sent helicopters to shower flowers on them. 

My wife and I, we both work at KIMS. She looks after the Post-Graduation Education of the college. Though we both are elderly and hence, are exposed to the age risk attached to Covid-19, our family has never discouraged us from performing our responsibility. They rather applaud us by referring to us as their inspiration. 

\

Besides all the precautions that we should take, if we are able to empathize with our fellow citizens, then that is patriotism in its purest form. We don’t have to stand on the border with a gun to be called a ‘’patriot’’. We all may make donations to the various Relief Funds, but we fail to help someone who is in need, right in front of our eyes. When we look 50 metres around ourselves, we are sure to find some underprivileged people. We can all come together to help them and when we see them smile, that would be more than enough!” –  Major General Pradeep Kumar Pattnaik.