Good Samaritans Walk The Extra Mile For Covid Patients In Kashmir

With the number of patients in home isolation rapidly increasing, as the second wave of infections sweeps through J&K, good Samaritans in the valley are walking the extra mile to ensure coronavirus patients get everything at their doorstep.

As the valley is shut in view covid lockdown, many areas are inaccessible by road and it gets difficult to reach out to chemist shops and eateries. Many NGOs and locals have come out and volunteered to bring a smile on the faces of covid affected people.

Kashmir¡¯s top non-governmental organisation (NGO) Athrout, has set up a 100-bed Covid facility in collaboration with the Srinagar administration, and converted the Haj house building into a spacious 100- bed plus Covid facility in Srinagar.

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¡°There are 28 high- flow oxygen beds with a 15 to 20 LPM (litres per minute). Besides 75 beds reliant on oxygen concentrators that supply 5 LPM to 10 LPM of oxygen are kept ready in as many as six halls of the building,¡± said Bashir Nadvi, chairman of Athrout Kashmir.

¡°By setting up this facility, we have prepared ourselves for the worst that may come. It would be a big charity for me if the facility is used in these tough times,¡± he said.

The NGO has been working on the war footing basis in every natural and other calamities whether earthquake, floods, political unrest and others.

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¡°We have distributed the Eid kits among 17 NGOs spanning across Kashmir for more widespread dispersal. This Eid, your donations will reach almost 3000 needy souls with Eid festivities and bring countless smiles on their faces. May Allah SWT accept & reward your donations,¡± Athrout Kashmir wrote on its official twitter handle.

Mohammad Aafaq Sayeed, project director of oxygen wing at NGO SRO Kashmir said that they have been working to provide round the clock oxygen to the patients in home isolation. ¡°We avail them with oxygen cylinders and concentrators at their doorstep,¡± he said.

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He said that they have also been providing the high flow oxygen to the hospitals in the valley. ¡°We have been sending our ambulances to ferry patients to and fro hospitals. We give 10-15 patients oxygen facilities at a given point of time,¡± Sayeed said.

¡°We have been covering the border area Uri and are distributing the N95 masks among the needy people and in hospitals. We have also distributed the masks among the officials of local administration, police and other frontline workers,¡± said Abrar Ahmad Bhat, coordinator of NGO Saaya- Shadow of Hope in Uri.

¡®Tiffin Aaw¡¯- serving home cooked food to covid patients

A Srinagar-based young couple Rayees Ahmed Dar and his wife Nida Rehman have started a ¡®food for Kashmir¡¯ campaign to help those in need amid the coronavirus crisis. The couple is providing homemade food at the doorsteps of covid infected families, doctors and paramedics.

¡°We have been receiving calls from the various families in Srinagar whose every member is infected with coronavirus and are unable to cook the food. We are delivering at their homes. In many cases, we are not charging from the covid patients as they are unable to pay,¡± Dar told India Times.

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¡°Currently, we are serving 400 people in a day and flow is likely to increase in the coming days as the heath experts have warned of a spike in the coronavirus cases in the coming days. Hopefully, we will be serving 1,000-1,500 boxes of meals in the coming days,¡± he said adding, ¡°the team has been following proper Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) while delivering the food as to stay safe.¡±

The couple had started a free home delivery service ¡®Tiffin Aaw¡¯ last year during the pandemic.

Sikh community offers help too

The various Sikh organizations have been extending their helping hands to the covid patients in the valley. ¡°We have been providing free of cost nutritious langar (free meals) in lunch and dinner to the covid patients at the hospitals. We also avail the oxygen cylinders and medicines to the people in dire need,¡± said Jagjeet Singh, coordinator of Covid-19 Sikh Volunteer group, an amalgam of various Sikh associations in Kashmir.

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¡°We have also set-up helpline numbers where we help people to connect with the doctors for the online consultation,¡± he said.

Pardeep Singh Dardi, founder J&K Sikh Volunteers said that they have been helping the people in getting registered on CoWin for the vaccination purpose. ¡°Internet cafes will charge them at least Rs 100 per person and we are saving their amount in these tough times and getting it done over phone,¡± he said.

Online ¡®Groxery¡¯ winning hearts

Kashmir¡¯s first and largest online grocery delivery store has been covering the covid affected families in the valley. ¡°We have provided over 300 ration kits to the poor and deserving families till now. In fact we have given 250 packets of juices to a local NGO which will distribute them to the frontline workers,¡± said Malik Aadil, the owner of ¡®Groxery-The Store next Door¡¯.He said that in the times of pandemic they have made the contactless delivery at the customer¡¯s door step. ¡°We have also kept the options of online and card payment mode open if one is unable to pay the cash payment,¡± he said.

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In Kashmir, ¡®Groxery¡¯ is the only safest way to get the entire essential services delivered at your home amid the coronavirus threat and when one can¡¯t venture out of home.

¡°We are getting over 650 orders per day. Our delivery boys are following all the covid protocols. They ensure their own and customers' safety first,¡± he said.