E-Paper
2 MP men convert bike, auto into mini ambulances to help people amid Covid-19 crisis
An auto driver in Bhopal converted his auto into an ambulance after selling his wife’s gold pendant and earrings.
Two men in Madhya Pradesh have been helping many amid the Covid-19 crisis by using their bike and auto as ambulances, ferrying Covid-19 patients to the hospitals, HT has learnt.
Thirty-four-year-old Javed Khan, an auto driver in Bhopal, converted his auto, which was purchased on loan, into an ambulance after selling his wife’s gold pendant and earrings worth ₹10,000. Mechanical engineer Azeez Khan of Dhar has been using his bike for the same purpose and has spent his savings worth ₹30,000 for the same. They are providing their services free of cost to help the people in need.
“During the lockdown, I was sitting at home and reading news that people are facing trouble in reaching hospitals. I thought of helping such people. But I thought just to help them in reaching the hospital is not enough, so I thought of converting my auto into a mini ambulance. The oxygen is one of the most important things for Covid-19 infected patients so I fit an oxygen cylinder in my auto.”
“My wife Kishwar Khan helped me financially by giving her gold pendant and earrings. I sold it for ₹10,000. I posted my numbers on social media so that people can contact me any time. As of now, I helped 12 people in Bhopal in the past two weeks,” said Javed.
He said, “I have saved some money to repay the loan of my auto but now I am using this money to bear my household expenses.”
Khan, 39, said, “I have been working as a fabricator for the past so many years. I read some news that people are facing difficulty in reaching hospitals due to a kutcha road or narrow lane so I thought of developing a bike ambulance. I constructed an attachment with a bed, an oxygen cylinder and a metallic cover. The structure is attached to my bike and this is how I am able to take the patients safely to the hospital.”
In the past week, Khan has helped eight people.
Javed said, “It takes 4-5 hours and someday more than eight hours to get the cylinders refilled at a centre in Govindpura but it motivates me to help more people.”
Although the duo doesn’t charge any money for the services, people are donating money to help them refill oxygen.
People who took their services have appreciated their effort. A resident of Awadhpuri, Sunil Dug, said, “I was discharged from the hospital two days ago, I needed an ambulance to reach home but I didn’t get any vehicle till late at night. I saw Javed’s number on a social media platform. I contacted him, he was 12 kilometres away from the hospital but he came and took me to my home which was 13 kilometres from the hospital. When I asked for money, he refused to take any but I donated some money for his welfare service.”
