Anand Mahindra deploys Bolero to roll out 'Oxygen on Wheels' in Maharashtra

Mahindra and Mahindra is the latest Indian car manufacturer which has come forward to help people amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis across the country. At a time when oxygen crisis has seen many Covid-19 patients die, the carmaker has taken an initiative to help reach oxygen cylinders to different parts of the country to help people.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, has announced that the company has lined up around 70 Bolero pickup trucks to deliver oxygen cylinders. He took to social media to announce the initiative. Mahindra wrote, "The rollout plan includes Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagpur going live with another 50-75 Bolero pickups on the road in the next 48 hours." So far, Mahindra has helped to deliver 61 jumbo cylinders to 13 hospitals in urgent need.

Maharashtra is India's worst-affected state in the pandemic with 46,02,472 cases and 68,813 people dead. Though the Oxygen on Wheels initiative will initially cater to the needs of people in Maharashtra, Mahindra will soon roll out this convoy of oxygen cylinders to other parts of the country as well. Mahindra said, "We have started in Maharashtra but will expand this through the country relying on the support of our trusted dealership network & the assistance of local administrations to succeed."

The initiative will help the last-mile delivery concerns that have been raised since the oxygen crisis emerged. It has been reported that there were not enough vehicles to ferry oxygen cylinders to hospitals even if there was supply. Mahindra outlined the reason behind the Oxygen on Wheels initiative by saying, "Today, Oxygen is the key to reducing mortality. The problem is not of oxygen production but its transportation from producing plants to hospitals and homes. We're attempting to bridge this gap with "Oxygen on Wheels" a project implemented via Mahindra Logistics."

Mahindra has also set up an operations control centre to coordinate the movement of these vehicles. The storage location is also replenished from the local refilling plant. Mahindra is also planning for a scheme to directly benefit those in need of oxygen.

India is facing one of the worst phases of the pandemic as the second wavehas sent cases soaring across the country. Over 4 lakh new cases were recorded on Friday and as many as 3,523 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours.