Barkha Dutt on her father’s demise from coronavirus

Journalist Barkha Dutt shared the news of her father SP Dutt’s death on Twitter on Tuesday. Her father, who was an Air India official, passed away after battling with Covid-19.

“The kindest, loveliest man I have ever known, my father Speedy, lost the COVID battle and died this morning. When I took him to hospital, against his will, I promised I would bring him home in two days. I couldn’t keep my word. I failed. He never broke a promise he made to us,” Barkha wrote.

Barkha also thanked the frontline workers who helped her family during this crisis, saying, “My father’s last words to me were: “I’m choking, treat me”- to all the doctors at Medanta, nurses, ward staff, security guards, ambulance drivers, my gratitude for trying so hard.”

Referring to her father fondly as ‘Speedy’, Barkha wrote, “My father loved to invent things, make trains, planes and of course, his grandchildren. I’d like to remember Speedy as the handsome man, eccentric scientist, doting father who gave my sister and I wings, than to think of him strapped to pipes. My best tribute to him is to redouble my commitment to report Covid on the ground & give voice to those who don’t have one.”

Through her YouTube news channel MoJo, Barkha has been covering the second wave of Covid-19 and the impact of the infection on the diurnal lives of people, reports the Hindustan Times.

Barkha’s sister Bahar Dutt had also expressed her pain last week saying that their father was suffering from breathing problems because of Covid-19. “This is my father, he can fix anything in the house. Right now he can’t breathe. I can’t fix his lungs. We didn’t get an ambulance with oxygen so his condition worsened on the way to the hospital. I am angry but how do we fix our broken system?” she wrote on Twitter sharing a photo of her father.

Several political leaders reacted to the news with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeting, “V v sad to hear that Barkha. My heartfelt condolences. God bless his soul.”

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