CHENNAI: Arul Raj’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing ever since the second wave of Covid began.
Through Karunai Ullangal trust, which he founded with 10 others, he has been operating free emergency-rescue vehicles to take patients from one hospital to another, and to transport people who died of Covid-19.Karunai Ullangal has two vehicles with oxygen supply, two normal rescue vans, and an auto.
The group has attended over 350 calls so far, of which more than 50 were to transport bodies of Covid-19 victims. “During the first wave, we provided food and other supplies to over 10,000. When the second wave began, we thought of doing the same. But, when scores of people started calling for ambulances, we changed our decision,” said Arul.
NSM Abbas, another member of the trust, added, “In times of need, many private ambulance operators started demanding at least Rs 5,000 to transport bodies. I have seen people break down near hospitals saying they can’t afford it.” Imagine the trauma one has to go through when they’ve just lost a loved one and don’t have the money to give them a proper farewell, he said.
Recalling an incident that deeply saddened Arul, he said, “We have been burying many unclaimed bodies of Covid victims. Once, a man, whose family was abroad, fell sick. We helped admit him at a hospital, and two days later, he died. His family asked me to bury the body. No one from the family attended the funeral. This showed how money has no power over the pandemic.”
There have also been many instances when their help proved to be life-saving. “We work from dusk till dawn, trying to find hospitals for patients. We consider people with no family here, as our own. Their families call us every day, and when the patients finally get discharged, we still get calls asking us how we are,” said Arul.
The activity is completely funded by donors, and the Trust is now in need of an eight-seater vehicle to help transport more people. They said they would return the vehicle once the pandemic is over.
Arul can be contacted at 98417 76685.