3 MP villages pool money, set up DIY Covid hospitals

BHOPAL: With many hospitals in MP nearly out of oxygen equipped beds, at least three

villages

in Maoist-hit

Balaghat district

have turned self-reliant and pooled money to convert existing hostels into

Covid

care centres, complete with vital oxygen supply.


The villagers have purchased oxygen concentrators and are admitting patients. Government doctors have begun visiting these facilities twice a day. Local MLAs and administrative officers have extended their support to these ‘

DIY

hospitals’, and more villages in the surroundings are following in their footsteps.

The first

hospital

came up a couple of weeks ago in Lalbarra tehsil after a small-time businessman had a hard time getting proper treatment for his daughter. In the tight-knit community, his anguish touched others and the idea took hold they could set up a hospital on their own. They started pooling money.

It took villagers a month to get centre up & running
A local doctor named Arun Lange joined the effort. Word spread quickly and MLA Gauri Shankar Bisen contributed five oxygen concentrators.

It took them nearly a month to start the Covid centre. Now, it’s running full steam, with patients getting food and medicines from the collected money, say sources.

District collector Deepak Arya said: “The effort of people of Lalbarra is laudable. Now, people in Waraseoni and Lanji have raised money to start their own Covid centres.” “Lalbarra bought oxygen concentrators. Our doctor, Ritwik Patel, has led all the campaigns. He has pooled resources from government and private sector to convert hostels into Covid-care centres,” said the collector.

Balaghat has reported 37 Covid deaths and there are nearly 1,200 active cases, over 70% of them in home isolation. About 230 patients are on oxygen support and 15 in ICU.

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