A few years ago, nobody would have thought that a day will come when people would gasp for a single breath of synthetic oxygen and their life would depend on oxygen cylinders, tubes, and concentrators. But well, here we are!
There is not a single state in the country that is not dealing with the oxygen crisis, today. When medical gas is getting hard to obtain, people are even going to the extent of procuring industrial oxygen to save their loved ones. In such a time, even a little bit of help from any source proves to be a boon.
IPS officer, Dr. Karuna Sagar also came up as a blessing in disguise to the people of twin districts Jehanabad-Arwal in Bihar when he distributed oxygen concentrators to the Red Cross society of the district, about which he exclusively talked with Indian Masterminds.
DEALING WITH COVID CRISIS IN THE TWIN DISTRICTS
Currently posted as the Director of Modernization in the Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dr. Sagar has been taking care of the two districts for a long time now. When Covid first hit the nation in 2020 and the entire country went under complete lockdown, Dr. Sagar saw to it that not even a single person went hungry.
“We provided the ones in need with dry ration, masks, sanitizers, and other essentials. Later on, when the migrants started facing inevitable trouble, we provided the District Magistrate of Jehanabad, Mr. Naveen Kumar with carpentry kits who further issued them to the needy. We worked with the administration and tried meeting everyone’s requirements,” Dr. Sagar told Indian Masterminds.
HAND IN HAND WITH SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS
To help the people as much as he can, Dr. Sagar has established an association with various social organizations, with whose support he is able to extend a hand to the ones in need.
“I am associated with Bihar-Jharkhand People’s Association and New South Wales in Sydney, which have continuously supported us. Similarly, last year I also took help from Reliance Foundation and Star Health Insurance,” stated the 1991 batch IPS officer.
PORTABLE X-RAY MACHINE
With the help of the Bihar-Jharkhand organization, Dr. Sagar acquired a mobile x-ray machine that is portable, helping patients to get scanned from the comfort of the place they are at.
The DM told Dr. Sagar that the patients need to be moved to x-ray rooms as Covid can also be detected through bone and lungs scanning, which is very inconvenient to them. Moving them from one place to another may also cause the virus to spread more.
“Therefore, we acquired the digital x-ray machine which is quite handy as it can be brought to the patient and their scanning can be done right then and there,” he told Indian Masterminds.
ACQUIRING OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS
Owing to the big problem of lack of oxygen cylinders or concentrators in the country, Dr. Sagar decided to help the people in need of them. He organized three oxygen concentrators from Delhi and supplied them to the Red Cross Society in Jehanabad.
Similarly, when the DM of Alwar, Ms. J Priyadarshini expressed the requirement of 100 oxymeters, the IPS officer immediately arranged for them and handed these over to the administration.
“We route through Red Cross as it is a voluntary organization and therefore it is easy to work with them,” Dr. Sagar told Indian Masterminds.
He did not just stop there. He has arranged for over 50 oxygen regulators that are on their way to Arwal district. “They have the oxygen cylinders but no regulators and till they don’t have the flow meters (regulators), the patients won’t be able to use the cylinders. Therefore, we are arranging them.” Moreover, he has arranged for three additional oxygen concentrators – two from Mumbai and one from Delhi, which are on their way to the Jehanabad district.
GARNERING ACCOLADES
For his commendable work in society, Dr. Sagar has also received several awards and recognitions. He received the Bharat Gaurav Award in January as also the Top professional of India award.
On 8 th May 2021, he also received the honorary Doctorate from Sikkim Professional University, Gangtok.
Dr. Sagar is continuously working with the district administrations and with the help of voluntary and social organizations, he is trying his best to arrange for and provide help to the needy.
