Having spent a fortnight in the hospital for Covid-19 treatment and having seen his acquaintances struggle to find hospital beds, Bengaluru-based techie Kamran Shahid, 32, decided to make things easier for others.
He began coordinating for hospital beds, even as he was in the hospital. Once discharged, he joined ‘Namma Team,’ a group of volunteers guided by IAS officer P Manivannan.
Speaking to DH, Shahid said it all began when he was hospitalised for Covid-19 treatment in April this year.
“When I was in the hospital, I saw that there were several SOS requests online for hospital beds and for oxygen. Since I was in the hospital, I was only retweeting requests as I was not in a position to talk to people on phone. Once I got out of the hospital, I reached out to Manivannan Sir as he had called for volunteers,” he narrated.
Ever since, he has been managing coordination efforts for medical emergency for the RR Nagar zone.
“The entire process is hectic and requires a lot of coordination. It cannot be done alone. Hence, I reached out to people I know and roped in some more volunteers,” he said.
He leads a team of 10 members as part of the initiative. The team coordinates with BBMP to help people secure hospital beds.
Even though the bed allotment has been streamlined in the recent weeks, there’s still much to do, according to Shahid.
“For instance, if a person is sick in spite of testing negative on RT-PCR, it’s still a challenge to find a bed,” he said.
How does he manage time along with a full-time job in an MNC? Kamran said he wakes up at 5 am and sometimes the coordination work stretches on much after midnight.
“I have been simultaneously doing my office work, too. I sleep whenever I get time in between,” he said.
This is not the first time that Shahid has played the good Samaritan. During the Kerala floods in 2019, he and a group of volunteers collected rations and other supplies to be delivered to those in need.