'Binod' Fame Slayy Point Raises Rs. 50 Lakh for COVID Relief

Slayy Point, a YouTube channel run by Abhyudaya Mohan and Gautami Kawale, on April 25, hosted a charity stream for COVID-19 relief efforts on Mythpat's channel, which lasted over seven hours during which the channel raised Rs. 50 lakh that will be donated to the Hemkunt Foundation. India's YouTube community, including some famous names such as Tanmay Bhat, Kusha Kapila and Bhuvan Bam as well young influencers and entertainers such as Ashish Chanchalani and Dolly Singh, all took part in the fundraiser.

India is currently faced with a crisis of monumental proportions and people from all walks of life have joined hands to help the country defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. The infections have set new records every passing day; the number of deaths due to the virus has also surged past previous single-day tallies. And in such a critical moment, Indian YouTubers and influencers are also working to help however they can, including through fundraising efforts like live stream.

YouTuber Ashish Chanchalani expressed gratitude to Mythpat and Slayy Point for helping India's YouTube entertainers come together to raise the money. “We are all glad we could do this together,” Chanchalani wrote, adding, “These donations will now go to Hemkunt foundation for oxygen.”

Twitter users were all praises for these influencers and entertainers. The official handle of YouTube Creators India reacted by tweeting, "Thank you! We are proud and grateful."

"Thank you so much, guys. So many lives will be saved. May God bless you and your family," a Twitter user, @minni_walia, wrote.

"Slayy Point" went viral last year when its creators, Abhyudaya and Gautami. decided to examine the comments section of their channel. In the video titled "Why Indian Comments Section is Garbage (BINOD)," shared on July 15, the duo showed their subscribers some of the strangest comments they had received. One of these, from a user named Binod Tharu, contained nothing but his first name "Binod".

Soon after the video appeared online, the comments section of several popular YouTube videos was suddenly filled with the same word: Binod. The trend then shifted to Twitter, where it caught the eye of many meme makers.

Coronavirus causing tremendous strain

Meanwhile, India on Thursday registered a record 3,79,257 fresh infections and 3,645 deaths, the highest-ever spike in numbers in a single day. The hospitals continue to remain overwhelmed with patients as the country's health infrastructure came under tremendous strain.

In some respite, though, India, in a more "liberalised and accelerated" third phase of its vaccination drive, has allowed everyone who is 18 or above to register themselves for immunisation against COVID-19. The third phase begins on May 1.