Two young doctors from Raiganj are working almost round the clock at the Beliaghata ID & BG Hospital, the facility that is treating coronavirus positive patients in Calcutta.

Pallab Sinha, a doctor of general medicine, and his brother Arnab, who is an MBBS and an intern, have become a talking point in their home district, North Dinajpur.

“We are proud of our sons who have been relentlessly working at this hour of crisis. I had put all efforts to ensure that both my sons become doctors and my dream came true. But these days, it is altogether a different feeling as both are working away in Calcutta as frontliners to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Madhusudan, their proud father.

An employee of the North Dinajpur zilla parishad, Madhusudan and his wife Krishna stay at a two-room flat provided to him by the rural body.

“Both our sons were born and brought up here. We had always wanted to see them in the medical profession and today, they have made us proud by serving people when hundreds need treatment,” said Krishna, a homemaker.

Pallab is posted at the SSKM Hospital in the Bengal capital, while Arnab is posted at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital as an intern.

When coronavirus cases were reported in the state, Pallab was sent to Beliaghata ID & BG Hospital. “As the number of cases increased, my younger son, too, was sent there,” the father said.

The parents, who know none of their sons could visit them now, spend their days by glancing through old albums and cleaning the mementoes and other souvenirs which Pallab and Arnab received.

Krishna often gets worried about their safety as a number of doctors and paramedics who treated Covid-19 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus. “When I talk to my children over the phone, I always insist that they take all measures to stay safe. Both of them keep on assuring me that they are fine but a fear always lingers in my mind these days,” said Krishna.

The responsibility shouldered by the doctors earned them appreciation from local people. “It is a matter of pride for us that two local youths are delivering their responsibilities during the pandemic. We appreciate their fight,” said Sandip Biswas, the chairman of Raiganj municipality.