Business body offers rent-free O2 concentrators to workers

Ludhiana: In a noble initiative undertaken amid the pandemic, Punjab’s biggest business association—Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU)—on Sunday announced rent-free oxygen concentrator service, in which first preference will be given to workers and employees of their member factories.
The needy can contact on CICU’s helpline number 8872899992 for availing this service, which has been started with 30 concentrators and the number will be increased in the coming days.
Upkar Singh Ahuja, CICU president, said, “The government and the administration are doing their best to counter the deadly wave of coronavirus and it is the need of the hour that everyone who can provide any type of help should come forward. Due to the huge spurt in demand for oxygen and difficulties being faced by the patients requiring it at home, we have started this initiative, under which staff of our member factories will be provided oxygen concentrators for temporary use and no rent will be charged. We have started with 30 concentrators that were donated or procured with the help of our member companies, and we have a target of taking the number to 100. Besides this, we are also looking at other ways to help factory workers, like subsidised vaccination.”
Pankaj Sharma, CICU general secretary, said, “Anyone on patient’s behalf can send a WhatsApp message on our helpline number 8872899992 or call us to complete a small formality, after which the concentrator will be provided based on the availability status. We have already started spreading the word about this service to make our members and their employees aware about it.”
Lauding the CICU efforts, Jagbir Singh Sokhi, president of Sewing Machine Development Club, said, “This noble gesture by CICU will benefit thousands of workers and even associations like us who are affiliated with it. In order to do our part, we are appealing to our members to contribute to this cause by donating oxygen concentrators.”