Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 26

To ease the burden of arranging oxygen for sick family members during the Covid pandemic, the Jalandhar-based Apahaj Ashram is providing oxygen concentrators for free to needy people.

The Apahaj Ashram is providing as many as five oxygen concentrators to those needing them for their Covid positive patients. With six more concentrators to be donated to the ashram tomorrow, in total the Apahaj Ashram will have 11 oxygen contrators at its disposal to help needy patients amidst Covid pandemic.

Tarsem Kapoor, Chairman, Apahaj Ashram, said, "We have received five contrators from donors interested in people getting oxygen sewa during the pandemic. We take a refundable security of Rs 10,000, which can be lowered to Rs 5,000 for families who can't pay that much. Upon submission of doctor's recommendation and a Covid positive report, the concentrator is issued after deposition of the refundable amount.

The security is also for the purpose of safety because these are very costly equipments. While we have five concentrators as yet, we have been promised six more concentrators tomorrow."

While the concentrators are both transported and installed by Apahaj Ashram staff, once out of use, the patients can then return the concentrator back.

Kapoor added, "It is a very hassle free procedure and is installation is being done by our in house pharmcaist who is adept at the job."

He said the service has only been started yesterday, so far only one patient has availed the service on the first day but once word is spread, we expect many more to opt for it. Our purpose is only to help hapless families who are in serious need of oxygen for their treatment.

Notably, while the Apahaj Ashrma has 150 inmates — including men and women — all the inmates have received the first dose of the Covishield vaccine in April and presently await the second dose. While Kapoor said strict Covid protocol and guidelines were being followed at the Apahaj Ashram, so far all inmates at the ashram have been abale to keep Covid infection at bay in the over one year of the pandemic.