People from various walks of life have come together to extend help to Dambar Bahadur Simkhada for the treatment of his wife, Sita, who is a kidney patient.

The Post and it’s sister paper Kantipur had carried a photo story earlier this week of Dambar who was taking his wife to the hospital for dialysis on a push cart for dialysis as he could not find an ambulance due to the ongoing lockdown.

The lockdown, imposed by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19, entered its 72nd day on Wednesday.

After the Post ran the photo story of Dambar and Sita, a member from the public with the Twitter handle @aneekarma had initiated the campaign to support the couple.

“The images of Dambar Bahadur taking her wife on a push cart hit me really hard and I thought of ways to help them in some way. I connected with various people via social media and the response in gathering funds for the treatment has been overwhelming,” said @aneekarma, who wished to be identified by her twitter name only. “We collected the funds through various e-wallets, which we then transferred to Dambar Bahadur’s account.”

She said the money collected should be enough for Dambar to buy medicines for Sita for about six months. “Though this is just a citizen’s initiative, we will remain in constant touch with him and try to help him,” she said.

According to Dambar, around 150 people have collected Rs200,000 and deposited the amount in a bank account.

Likewise, a Jamal resident, has pledged to provide a vehicle to the couple for their hospital visits for at least three months.

“We have been receiving help from various people after our photos were published,” said Dambar. “We want to thank everyone for extending their help.”

Dambar was working in Qatar until a year ago. But he returned after Sita’s both kidneys stopped working.

Originally from Dhading's Ganga Jamuna Rural Municipality, Dambar brought his wife to Kathmandu after doctors told him that she needed regular dialysis. The couple was living in a rented accommodation in Samakhushi, Kathmandu.

Dambar used to sell vegetables for a living but ever since the lockdown was imposed, he's lost all business.