COVID-19: Man converts autorickshaw to ambulance to help patients in Bhopal (PICS)

New Delhi: The pandemic has brought out the empathetic and humanitarian side of the people of our country. One such example is the 34 year-old auto driver, Javed Khan in Bhopal. He has transformed his autorickshaw to an ambulance so that he can help the COVID-19 patients in distress.

Javed has been helping Covid-19 patients with his autorickshaw ambulance by ferrying them to and from the hospitals in Bhopal. In the past two weeks, Javed has helped 12 people, he purchased his autorickshaw on loan. Then he had to sell his wife’s gold pendant earrings worth ₹10,000 so that he can transform it into an ambulance.

Javed told the Hindustan Times , that he thought of converting his autorickshaw into an ambulance when he read about the problems people are facing to carry COVID-19 patients to hospitals during the lockdown. He does not charge any money for ferrying the people to and from the hospitals.

Javed said, “I thought just to help them in reaching the hospital is not enough, so I thought of converting my auto into a mini ambulance.” Further he said, “My wife Kishwar Khan helped me financially by giving her gold pendant and earrings. I sold it for ₹10,000. I posted my numbers on social media so that people can contact me any time.”

Javed has even fitted an oxygen cylinder in his auto so that he can also help the critical patients who have breathing problems due to the virus, reach the hospital. He said, “The oxygen is one of the most important things for Covid-19 infected patients so I fit an oxygen cylinder in my auto. It takes 4-5 hours and someday more than eight hours to get the cylinders refilled at a centre in Govindpura but it motivates me to help more people.” Javed also said that the money he saved to repay the loan of auto is now being used to pay his household expenses.

The country has reported 3,82,315 new cases of the COVID-19 virus while 3,780 people succumbed to the disease.