Madhya Pradesh: Man Turns His Auto-Rickshaw Into Ambulance, Offers Free Rides To COVID Patients

Javed Khan, an auto-rickshaw driver in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, has turned his vehicle into a makeshift ambulance unit to offer free rides to those in need amid a sharp rise coronavirus cases in the state. The 34-year-old has equipped his auto-rickshaw with an oxygen cylinder, pulse oximeter, sanitiser, and other necessary medical supplies that a patient might urgently require. To buy the equipment, Khan sold his wife's gold necklace and stopped the payment of the instalment of his vehicle.

He said that the service is his contribution towards the human cause during the holy month of Ramzan. With this innovative idea, Khan has saved as many as 15 lives by rushing them to the hospital on time. "I stocked three months ration for my family and subsequently used the money secured by selling wife's necklace to fund the conversion of the autorickshaw into an ambulance. The 7 kg oxygen cylinder fitted in the auto-rickshaw was gifted by social activist Bharti Jain," Khan told The New Indian Express.

Besides selling his wife's jewellery, he also decided to pause on the instalment payment to save the amount and invest in running the ambulance service. On being asked what prompted him to start the ambulance for free, Khan said that he was moved by watching the plight of the people around him and wanted to do something with the resources he owned. "In agreement with my wife, I decided to start the autorickshaw-ambulance service which can be availed by anyone just by dialling my cell number 7999909494. I've rushed 15 Covid patients to hospitals in the last three days, including AIIMS-BHOPAL, Hamidia Hospital and Paliwal Hospital. Even if people are willing to pay me, I tell them that this is for the human cause during the holy month of Ramzan," he added.

The Logical Indian salutes Javed for the humanitarian efforts. It is a big positive thing to know people who want to help others are among the society and actively supporting and saving lives. To do all this with the limited resources he has is quite phenomenal.

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