BENGALURU: Veena Kumari (28) and her mother Sidda Lakshmi from Hebbal in Bengaluru tested positive for Covid-19 after a relative died from the disease on July 8.
What followed was a nightmare for the mother-daughter duo, who had to run from pillar-to-post to get treated.
Even after two days of trying, not a single ambulance or Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) official came to their help.
Out of desperation, Veena recorded a video where she is seen crying and begging authorities for help, as both mother and daughter were breathless, giddy and coughing.
“My mother is tired, has BP, sugar and is unable to hear. For two days, we have been calling the BBMP and 108. They are asking us for a doctor’s confirmation on bed availability. We don’t have any contacts or enough money. We only have our BPL cards,” Veena says in the video.
Without a Bangalore Urban (BU code) assigned to them, hospitals the 28-year-old reached out to asked them to register themselves with the BBMP. “How can we go to the BBMP office when we are Covid-positive,” she asked. When she enquired with BBMP officials to admit her at GKVK Covid Care Centre, they reportedly asked her to get a doctor’s confirmation on bed availability.
Even getting their Covid test results was a task. While Veena received her report on July 12, her mother’s report was pending.
“We had to put pressure on the hospital to release the 55-year-old’s report, which finally came on July 13 at midnight. We called many people to help them find a bed, including Byatarayanapura MLA Krishna Byre Gowda,” said Jnanendra Kumar, a family friend.
Finally, after the heart-wrenching viral video was aired on local TV channels and brought to the notice of higher authorities such as the BBMP Commissioner, an ambulance was sent for them on Tuesday afternoon, and they were taken to Koramangala Indoor Stadium.
However, their ordeal didn’t end there. There was no one to attend to them, bathrooms were filthy, no doctors to attend to them, and no facilities available.
When Jnanendra raised the issue with BBMP officials, they were shifted to St Martha’s Hospital.
“We got them tested by crowdfunding money. They will not be able to afford the charges at St Martha’s unless they are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. We will shift them to another hospital tomorrow if it turns out to be unaffordable, but for now, they can get some immediate medical attention,” he said.