BMTC will launch ‘Oxygen on Wheel’ initiative at Victoria Hospital

Bengaluru: On Thursday, BMTC in partnership with NGOs will launch ‘Oxygen on Wheel’ initiative at Victoria Hospital. This can be a relief to Covid patients who wait near hospitals for oxygen.

The transport utility joined with several NGOs, including Foundation India, to come up with a free oxygen bank/parlour. It turned a non-AC bus into an oxygen bank consisting of two concentrators and four cylinders. This will attend to six patients at a time.

The bus will be at the parking of Victoria Hospital from Thursday, 10:30 am to 6 pm. People can call on 9731007191 and it will be free for them on a first-come-first-serve basis.Officials informed that they will set up more such bases according to the need and if more NGOs tie up with them.

People in home isolation can get oxygen concentrators at their doorstep through app-based aggregator Ola cabs, along with trading platform Zerodha and GiveIndia Foundation (NGO).

“This initiative has kickstarted in Malleshwaram and Koramangala now and will be available across the city and the state soon. On recovery, the concentrators need to be returned using the Ola app so that they can be used to treat other patients”, said Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan.

Those who need oxygen can log in to the Ola app and request for a concentrator by giving the required details. Once it is submitted, Ola will pick up the concentrator via a cab. The specially trained driver will bring the concentrator within 30 minutes to the doorstep of those who place the order. Those in home isolation will have to pay an amount of Rs 5,000 per concentrate which is refundable. When the patient recovers, the aggregator will pick up the concentrator and utilise it for someone else who is in need.