Not just oxygen or medicines but there is transportation shortage across parts of the country because the moment taxi/auto drivers find the destination as hospital, they refuse to accept rides which has become another problem for patients.

Amidst all this negativity, an autorickshaw driver named Ravi Agarwal is winning hearts online for a gesture he is willingly offering to the people in need. In Ranchi, the man is offering free rides in his auto for those who desperately need to go to the hospital as they have no other mode to do so.

Ravi said while waiting for passengers on April 15, he saw an old woman begging the taxi and auto drivers for taking her to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), but everyone turned down her request suspecting her to be a Covid patient.

“Looking at her problems, I offered to take her to RIMS and dropped her there. She offered me Rs 200 for the service but I refused to take it due to some unknown reasons. While returning home, I realised the problems being faced by those who are infected by the deadly virus,” said Ravi. It gave him immense
satisfaction for the first time that he did something good for someone, he added.

“After that incident, I decided to provide free service for corona patients and posted my phone number on social media asking people to call me in case they required any help from me,” said Ravi.

“Since then, I have been receiving several calls and ferrying corona passengers to hospitals. It gives me immense satisfaction that at least I am doing something good for society,” said Ravi. So far, he has served more than 20 patients, he added as quoted by TNIE.

In order to help more people, he put his phone number on social media so that they could contact him whenever needed. Soon, he started to receive calls. Thinking that he is associated with a hospital, they even enquired about the availability of beds and oxygen as well. Later, he clarified that this initiative is not just limited to Covid patients, but to anyone who needs a free ride for an emergency.