Unseen warriors of COVID: Delhi crisis spurs citizen-lead initiatives as volunteers open 'oxygen langars' at Gurudwaras

Editor’s note: As the second wave of coronavirus infections ravages parts of India, millions of front-line workers and citizens are caught up in the middle, providing their services to distressed families on one hand while trying to cope themselves on the other. This is part of a series profiling the stories of these people. The second wave of Covid-19 has hit the National Capital hard and the overburdened healthcare infrastructure is coming apart at the seams. But at a time when the city is faced with an acute shortage of oxygen and hospital beds, many citizens are rising to the occasion in this hour of need. One such example is the Gurudwara Damdama Sahib, at New Delhi’s Nizamuddin, where the organisation has started an ‘Oxygen Langar’. It is an initiative taken up by the members of the Hum Chakar Gobind Ke, sought by desperate caregivers of covid positive patients. It is a makeshift centre where many people could be seen with the patients in tow. The founder of the committee, Hum Chakar Gobind Ke is Ajit Singh (52), who started the initiative towards the end of April. Many were seen outside the Gurudwara waiting for oxygen. [caption id=“attachment_9595161” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Vina (69) was turned away from hospitals despite her deteriorating condition, she found help through this oxygen langar[/caption] Abin, whose father Sehankunji CS’s (63), was in need of oxygen said, “We went to seven different hospitals, but didn’t manage to get neither beds nor oxygen. We tried to get oxygen for 11 hours but couldn’t get any. At last, we came here to the Gurudwara and were able to get oxygen within an hour. My father’s oxygen level increased from 76 to 83, thanks to them." Sandeep, another resident from Delhi, scrambled to find oxygen for his father Shiv Dayal (62) who tested positive on 26 April. Finally, he made his way to the Gurudwara. He was seen requesting the volunteers at Gurudwara to save his father; his father’s oxygen level climbed from 66 to 75 after getting the help he needed. As revealed by Sandeep, he went to three to four hospitals for help. He narrated his plight of witnessing people dying right outside the hospital with no one around to help them. While every day thousands of people are rushing to the Gurudwara, the volunteers at these religious places have only a limited amount of resources to help people in need of oxygen. Ajit Singh, the man heading the relief team said, “We are sourcing oxygen from other states of India like Punjab, Himachal and helping out hundreds of people.“ He urged the Central government to come up with initiatives to help out the citizens as they are unable to help all the people seeking help. A similar initiative of ‘oxygen langar’ is also functional at a Gurudwara in Indirapuram, Uttar Pradesh, led by the NGO Khalsa Help International. They have managed to help several critical patients. Ex-sub Inspector Rajender Singh also thanked the organisers of the initiative which saved his father’s life. He also urged the government and the private hospitals to come up with such facilities so that critical patients can be helped. The founder of the NGO, Gurpreet Singh Rami spoke to Firstpost about the initiative, “We have started this Langar to help people who have nowhere else to go. People are charging way more owing to the growing demand for oxygen and the government is not taking the necessary steps to help the citizens.” He also requested people to help the Gurudwara in saving thousands of lives and donate cylinders and other resources whatever be the amount or quantity. [caption id=“attachment_9595121” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Volunteers engaged in lugging oxygen cylinders around for people unable to help themselves.[/caption] The initiative is being run completely by Gurdwara volunteers and with no access to doctors or healthcare workers; the volunteers are the ones constantly checking SPO2 levels and handing out oxygen cylinders to the patients. About 25 beds have been set up onsite where patients can rest and stabilise their oxygen levels. For those who are not able to enter the premises due to the crowd, volunteers help to carry oxygen cylinders to their cars. Rami added, “It is unfortunate that people are using the pandemic and people’s distress to add cash in their pockets.” Meanwhile, people who came to the Gurdwara were angry at the government for the crumbling of the healthcare system. Surendra Singh Bhatia (48) a volunteer at the Gurudwara Damdama Sahib criticised the government, “The claims made by our CM, about the availability of the beds and oxygen in hospitals is nothing but a white lie, the healthcare system of the country has failed its citizens.” People are grieving, feeling helpless watching their loved ones die. Death, mass cremations, panic and grief has brought India to its knees. Despite the panic and grief, it’s commendable to see the people coming up with ways to help the distressed families in whatever ways possible with minimal resources at their disposal. It displays the unmatched ability the citizens of India are capable of and their willingness to help out each other, despite having cultural differences. Read Part 2 of the series here