As the second wave of Covid-19, now being referred to as Covid19-2.0, rages through Kashmir, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), frontline workers, and volunteers on the ground are gearing up once again to tackle the visibly disastrous consequences. Driven by community concern and lived experiences of crisis management, a number of these groups are providing people oxygen concentrators, cylinders, personal protection equipment (PPE) kits, and ambulance services. Some individuals, small groups have also joined the effort.

Once home, frantic, helpless, young Ahmad started his search for scarce oxygen concentrator and soon came to know about the NGO Help Together Foundation, which lends them for free. Within a couple of minutes, a volunteer knocked on his door and gave him the equipment and trained him to use it.  

Help Together Foundation with 25 volunteers, most of them young has been serving society long before the pandemic, driven by the desire to uplift marginalized sections of society by providing healthcare, education and livelihood. Even during previous lockdowns and crises when health was not a priority, the organisation helped the vulnerable and destitute by sponsoring their monthly food rations and financial aid.

At such odd times and during such challenging situations, there are quite a few addresses in Kashmir. The most respected is that of the Social Reforms Organization (SRO) Kashmir.

Mohammed Afaaq Sayeed, Project Director Oxygen Kashmir and Social Reforms Organization (SRO) said, they are equipped with 220 oxygen concentrators, 275 oxygen cylinders, both medium and bulk, which can deliver up to 25 litres per minute of oxygen. They have also procured portable aluminium oxygen cylinders, which have 3500 litters of oxygen and have installed oxygen high flow metres costing around Rs 5000 each. 

The trust, which was formed more than a decade ago, has almost 30 volunteers. It has helped people during floods in rescue and rehabilitation, said Zahoor ul- Haq, one of the group members. Initially formed with the intention to help the destitute and empower the underprivileged, it soon had to confront other challenges like Kashmir shutdown, which resulted in the loss of livelihood of vulnerable sections of the population.

“More than 1200 under-privileged patients are registered with us who are provided medicine free of cost for the controllable diseases. The aggregate monthly costs of providing free medicine costs around Rs 17-20 lakhs,” said Farooq Ahmed Bhat, founder and chairman. They have 12 ambulances, which help in ferrying patients to other districts also. 

“If the oxygen need is above 15 hours, only then can we hand over the oxygen machines. Those who have a need of a few hours can be managed with cylinders,” said the volunteers of the NGOs.

According to its chairman, Bashir Ahmad Nadwi, before the pandemic, they had almost 200 oxygen concentrator machines for COPD patients but as the pandemic overtook every other thing, the organization was advised by experts to procure more.

A year later, Hayat Manan finds himself serving the family of the friend as they all have been detected positive. “I bring them all the groceries from the market and whatever they need as they cannot venture out,” he said.

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