Meet The Delhi Based Businessman Who Helped Villagers Suffering From COVID

When the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, people were running from pillar to post for hospital beds, oxygen and life-saving medicines. Delhi-based businessman Arvind Arora came forward to help many in this time of crisis. An owner of a CCTV company, Mr Arora decided to convert his office into a Covid care call centre to help out as many people as possible, especially those who reached out to him from faraway villages, where help was not easily available.

The help was provided in terms of oximeters, medicines, small oxygen cylinders, thermometers and kits. His staff would receive calls on the helpline set up for the purpose and then medical care relief material was dispatched to various villages in India. His team would receive hundreds of calls everyday, all asking for help and Mr Arora's team ensured help was not denied.

Talking to NDTV about his initiative, Mr Arora said, "I heard that the situation in our villages was becoming dire, 20-30 people would die every day. So with God's blessings, we went to the villages and set up COVID-19 camps, for preliminary testing. We made oxygens cylinders available to them, we provided oximeters, thermometers, medicines, sanitisers and masks to the villagers. We did everything we could. But we wanted to help more, so we started giving online medical kits in 50 districts. We put out a helpline number, and my whole team was manning the phones."

One such village was Khatta Prahladpur, near Baghpat, where hundreds of people tested positive for coronavirus during the second wave. The local government dispensary had been closed for years, so the villagers had to go to the government hospital for treatment, which was 15 km away. During this time the kits and medicines made available through Arvind Arora's Covid care centres provided a huge relief.

Manoj Sharma, resident of Khatta Prahladpur says, "There was a point when many villagers had fallen ill. We had about 25 deaths in the village. There was a shortage of medicines. Covid medication wasn't available anywhere. That is when the medicines provided by Arvind Arora really helped many people get better and recover completely."

Neeraj, a resident Hisavda village in Baghpat says, "He delivered thermometers, oxygen and medicines to the village. This help came at a time when the situation was very bad. We are very grateful to him, for thinking of our well-being."

Arvind Arora has opened Covid care centres in 50 districts and dozens of villages. Despite spending lakhs of rupees from his personal funds, he intends to continue with his efforts and open Covid care centres in many more villages of the country to help as many people as possible.

As part of the Lottoland Aaj Ka Sitara series, we feature ordinary citizens and their extraordinary actions. Lottoland will support Arvind Arora's initiative with a cash incentive of Rs 1 lakh.