COVID Warrior: Mumbai School Teacher Drives Auto-Rickshaw To Ferry COVID-19 Patients For Free

Mumbai: Amid the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a school teacher in Mumbai has come forward to help the coronavirus patients by providing a rickshaw service from hospital to home and visa versa for free. Dattatraya Sawant, a teacher by profession, drives the auto-rickshaw by himself and provides a free ride to COVID-19 patients while taking all precautions like wearing a PPE kit, sanitisation and others. Mr Sawant, who lives in Ghatkopar area, is an English teacher at Dnyansagar Vidya Mandir School.

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Considering the increasing number of coronavirus patients across the state, Mr Sawant has been providing free services in northeast Mumbai for the last few days.

I drop off corona patients to Covid Care Center and the hospital for free of charge, and also bring discharged patients from the hospital and Covid Center to their respective homes, Mr Sawant told ANI.

He has so far provided free travel to 26 COVID-19 patients and his work is being appreciated at all levels.

For this, I personally take all precautionary measures. At present, the number of corona patients is increasing rapidly. Many of them are dying due to untimely treatment. In such a situation, whether the poor patients get government help in time or not, private ambulances are not affordable. And often public vehicles do not provide services to Covid patients. In such cases, my free service will be available to the patients, he said.

Mr Sawant further said that this service will continue as long as the COVID-19 wave continues. Many people are providing financial help Mr Sawant. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has announced that it will spend the entire cost of fuel for his rickshaw.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.