Six friends turn cars into oxygen facilities
AMID SHORTAGE OF HOSPITAL BEDS AND O2
KOTA : Six friends in Kota have turned three air-conditioned cars into oxygen-supply facilities to provide immediate relief to Covid patients at a time the health system is under unprecedented pressure, and an acute shortage of key supplies, like medical oxygen and remdesivir drug, is costing lives.
Chandresh Gehija, Ravi Kumar, Ashish Singh Rajawat, Bharat Samnani, Deepak Ambani and Gauram Godyani bear all expenses incurred on providing medical oxygen to Covid patients.
Chandresh Gehija (44), who runs a two-wheeler service centre in Kota, has parked his two cars and another of his uncle in Vigyan Nagar locality of the city for emergency supply of oxygen to patients.
“We are arranging medical oxygen cylinders with our own money and giving the life-saving gas to Covid-19 patients in our cars as many are not getting oxygen beds in hospitals,” he said.
“People are calling us on our phones seeking oxygen for the Covid patients in their families as we have circulated our contact numbers on social media. One of our friends in an industry provided us 5-6 oxygen cylinders for free, which we refill together,” Gehija said.
“The cars are kept on for hours to ensure air-conditioner facility to the Covid patients since it is peak summer and cars get hot quickly in daytime,” he said. “We sanitise cars every time a Covid patient leaves for home or hospital.”
Ravi Kumar (28), who works as a nursing staff in Kota, extends para medical facilities to the needy Covid patients. “We are buying oxygen masks for providing oxygen to Covid patients and also giving them coconut water and glucose,” he said.
Ashish Rajawat (35) said they have provided oxygen to over two dozen Covid-19 patients in the cars so far. “We are getting regulators of oxygen cylinders at higher prices as cheap regulators are not available in the market”, he said. “We are standing in queue in nighttime for getting oxygen cylinders filled.”
Gehija said “We are incurring an expenditure of ₹5000 to ₹6000 daily, which we all friends are contributing,” he said. “If someone is extending financial assistance to us, we are politely refusing and asking them to bring oxygen masks or hand sanitisers, which are used by patients in the cars.”
Gehija said that if someone can provide them a room, they can serve more Covid patients. “In the present circumstances when ambulances services are costly, we are also taking serious Covid patients to hospitals and providing oxygen cylinders to people at their homes,” he said.
Shadab Ghauri (37), a Covid patient who is recovering, said, “Gehija and his friends provided oxygen to Covid patients like me when there was crunch for oxygen cylinders and hospital beds.”