From police donning coronavirus shaped helmets to a car museum owner designing a whacky ‘virus car’ and a folk singer bringing out a video on the need to wash one’s hands, people in Telangana have come out with innovative ideas to create awareness about the pandemic. The keepers of the law took out a bike rally in the city recently with these scary looking helmets to grab the attention of two-wheeler riders and explain to them about the dangers of the virus and the need to take precautions. “It is an effort to promote awareness on the pandemic and the need to take precautions,” a police official said. Some of their colleagues manning another road talked about the safety of washing hands frequently and how to go about it, a video of which has gone viral. K Sudhakar, owner of the well known SudhaCars Museum, which displays hand-made cars, has designed a coronavirus- shaped car. He has earlier made cars in public interest on various occasions and for various causes, one of which was a ‘cage car’ to spread the message not to cage birds, and the other, a ‘helmet car’ to promote road safety. “Similarly, I made the coronavirus car to create awareness about the virus and to encourage people to stay at home,” Sudhakar said. The single-seater six wheeled car has a 100 cc engine and can hit a speed of 40 kmph. It is made of fibreglass and took him 10 days to make it, he said. In another endeavour, Palle Narasimha of Telangana Praja Natya Mandali, a CPI-affiliated cultural outfit, has made a video, singing a Telugu song about hand washing and other precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of COVID- 19. The song, sung in colloquial lingo, has been watched by many on his social media accounts, besides being shared. “I felt it was my responsibility to make people aware in these troubled times. Thats why I made the song. I am happy it has been liked by many, he said. Mega star Chiranjeevi and other Telugu film stars have done their part, taking to Twitter to urge people to stay at home to prevent the spread of of COVID-19. Chiranjeevi and other renowned actors Nagarjuna, Varun Tej and Sai Dharam Tej featured in a Coronavirus awareness music video, reportedly recorded from their individual homes.
