HYDERABAD : Over the last one month we have seen the city’s health infrastructure cracking under the pandemic’s pressure. The shortage of oxygen cylinders, scant supply of medicines and the vaccination drive coming to a grinding halt. But the worst of all was the struggle to find something as basic as a hospital bed. While hospitals have been unable to cater to the high caseload, there are a few individuals who have risen to the occasion by doing their bit.
One of them is Kalpana Ramesh, an architect and environmentalist. She has converted one of her houses into an isolation centre. The four-bedroom independent house at Rolling Hills in Gachibowli can comfortably accommodate four patients.
“This house is right next to mine and has been lying vacant. So, my daughter suggested why not turn it into an isolation centre instead of giving it out on rent. It was a brilliant idea and I quickly got the place cleaned this morning (Wednesday) and posted about it on Twitter,”says Kalpana, who otherwise would have earned Rs 70,000 a month had she rented out the house.
Tagging MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao and Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, she tweeted: “We have offered our rental property as an isolation facility for residents within our community of 100 homes. Fresh home cooked food/oxygen concentrator as back up (sic).” According to Kalpana, all vacant rental residential properties within communities should become quarantine centres for residents.
“This will avoid other family members from contracting Covid, thereby reducing the load on hospitals. The communities can manage these isolation centres with the help of the doctors living there,” she suggests. Rolling Hills has about 10 doctors residing in the community and she plans to rope them in for regular check-ups and for monitoring the patients’vitals.
Ask her about who will feed them, she says: “I will. I have an organic kitchen garden and I love to cook. I will make fresh, nutritious food for them and make sure they drink warm water regularly.” Kalpana believes that no one should suffer alone. “We as a community should come together during these tough times and help each other. The first six days of the infection are extremely crucial. If we are careful and look after ourselves well during this period, we will not have to get admitted to a hospital at all,” she says.