The recent oxygen crisis that caused miseries to many Covid patients also helped bring unknown people together who joined hands to help such patients.

That was how Arun Roy of Mumbai arranged oxygen concentrators and cylinders that reached some others in Jharkhand not known to him for ensuring their use by the needy Covid patients.

“When I heard about the crisis people were facing in arranging an oxygen cylinder for their close ones who were being treated in home isolation, I tried to explore if I could do anything,” Roy, an educator who once successfully ran an institute for coaching IIT aspirants, told The Telegraph from Mumbai.

The members of Al-Rahmat Foundation, Ranchi watching an oxygen concentrators

Roy who later also worked among teachers and rural students across the country then contacted his former students, friends and colleagues and got a very positive response.

“It was through two such contacts, Reeza Grewal and Miftah Rahman, that I got in touch with the Sikh United, a voluntary organisation run by the Sikh community in Netherlands and some others like Abdul Quadir of Houston (US) who helped,” informed Roy who hails from Ranchi but shifted to Mumbai 27 years ago.

That was how he got assurances for 6 oxygen concentrators and also donations worth about Rs 5.25 lakh, he further informed, adding he then contacted Vishnu Rajgarhia and Dr Raj Chandra Jha in Ranchi who helped him locating reliable people for distributing those.

“We now have a 20-bed, oxygen-equipped Covid care facility in this rural area and this oxygen concentrator will be very helpful to those in home isolation in case of emergency,” Vinod Singh, CPI-ML MLA from Bagodar in Giridih district, said after receiving one such concentrator.

Sudivya Kumar, JMM MLA from Giridih proper, was also thankful for two other oxygen concentrators they got for use in the district town.

Of the rest three, one was given to Indian Medical Association while two others to Al-Rahmat Welfare Foundation, both in Ranchi, for using those for needy patients.

“We already have 62 oxygen cylinders that we give to needy patients without charging anything and these two concentrators will also be used for the same purpose,” assured Al-Rahmat secretary Nadim Akhtar.

“With the cash donation of about Rs 5.25 lakh, we will be sending some oxygen cylinders for use in rural areas of Palamau, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Giridih districts and also about 50,000 masks for use of people of those areas,” Roy further informed, adding the donations received were not routed through him.

“I assessed the need, contacted the prospective donors and suppliers. Then I requested the donors to pay the amount straightway to the suppliers who, in turn, dispatched the consignments to the recipient organisations that are in direct touch with the end-users,” Roy explained when asked how his model worked.

“That was how we could distribute food packets among migrant workers at various stations in Maharashtra when they were returning home during the lockdown last year and also organise sleeping bags, quilts and tents, besides Hindi books for their libraries, for some farmers who were protesting against the farm laws near Delhi border last winter,” Roy told when asked if his model was tested before.