Rs 5,000 refundable deposit for doorstep delivery of oxygen concentrator; Ola-GiveIndia initiative will be expanded across Bengaluru soon
BENGALURU:
‘O2ForIndia’, a joint initiative of Ola Foundation and GiveIndia Foundation to provide oxygen concentrators free of cost through the Ola app for home-isolated Covid patients, was launched on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the initiative, Deputy Chief Minister and State Covid Task Force head Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said that to start with, the initiative was being implemented in Malleswaram and Koramangala, and would be later expanded throughout the city and also to all places where Ola is operating.
The facility will only be for those whose oxygen saturation is below 94, he pointed out.
The service has been rolled out in Bengaluru with an initial set of 500 oxygen concentrators. Ola and GiveIndia will scale it up across the country with up to 10,000 concentrators in the coming weeks, Narayan said.
Those who require oxygen (oxygen saturation below 94) need to log onto the Ola app and request an oxygen concentrator by providing a few basic details. Once submitted, the request will be validated and Ola will pick up the concentrator via one of its cabs with a specially trained driver and bring it to the doorstep of those who placed the request within 30 minutes. The home isolated beneficiary shall have to pay a refundable amount of Rs 5,000 per concentrator.
Seamless process
Once the patient has gotten better and no longer requires the concentrator, Ola will pick up the device and return it to GiveIndia for the next patient. This entire process will be seamless and the oxygen concentrator as well as the doorstep delivery and pick-up will be completely free.
Expressing gratitude for the cooperation extended, Gaurav Porwal, Chief Operating Officer, Ola, said, “We thank the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan for extending the Karnataka government’s support to our ‘O2forIndia’ initiative in partnership with GiveIndia. We’re beginning in Bengaluru today and will be rolling this out across the country with up to 10,000 concentrators soon. We hope this will bring much needed support and relief to those in need.”
On recovery, Oxygen Concentrators need to be returned using Ola App which will be utilised for the treatment of other patients.
— Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) May 12, 2021
This initiative is launched in Malleshwaram and Koramangala today and will be available across the city & the state soon.@CMofKarnataka
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“Through this initiative, we will provide oxygen concentrators to those recovering or isolating at home, right at their doorstep. We hope the easier access to oxygen will ease the distress of many patients,” said KP Vinod, MD, Alliances and Government Partnerships, GiveIndia.
Sri Raghavendra Beluru, Chairperson, Karnataka State Handicraft Development Corporation, who was instrumental in coordinating the effort of Ola and GiveIndia, was present.
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