Delhi man turns his EcoSport into emergency vehicle to help Covid-19 patients

Necessity is the mother of all inventions and where there is a will, there is a way. These may have been what prompted a Delhi man to convert his Ford EcoSport sub-compact SUV into a make-shift medical emergency vehicle, complete with oxygen cylinders, medicines, oximeter, food, water, and oxygen cans.

News agency ANI reported that Nagia, an employee of an IT company based in Noida, began helping Covid-19 patients a month. "It started in April. I was helping one of my neighbours as they needed oxygen. There was no oxygen cylinder available in the market at that time. Somehow, we arranged an oxygen cylinder from a Gurudwara in Rajouri Garden," he said.

Since then, Nagia has managed to come to the aid of several other people. "I am trying to help people in need by providing a variety of help and support. I have converted my car into an ambulance," he says, adding that his car has transported 23 Covid-19 patients so far.

The entire idea for equipping his vehicle with these medical equipment came in the backdrop of a massive shortage in oxygen cylinders in Delhi and other parts of the country as the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic continued to peak towards end March and through April. The healthcare infrastructure has been under tremendous strain and getting an ambulance wasn't a surety.

Nagia says that he decided to put his car to the use and that the expenses for it is from his own income. "I have spent almost a month mostly in my car, away from my family and kids just to serve people who are facing issues," he said.

Now that positive cases are coming down in Delhi - the city reported under 1,000 fresh cases on Sunday, Nagia says he is also supplying drinking water and food to those who may need these.