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India Covid crisis: Ajay Devgn opens purse strings to set up a treatment centre in Mumbai

Mumbai - Bollywood actor donates Dh4,95,708.26 to Mumbai civic body after setting up an oxygen centre in Dharavi

Actor Ajay Devgn, who earlier took the lead to set up an oxygen centre at Covid-19-hit Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia, in Mumbai has again generously donated Dh4,95,708.26 to set up a high-dependency unit (HDU) facility.

The HDU has been set up at an air-conditioned (AC) wedding banquet hall at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai in collaboration with PD Hinduja Hospital at Mahim.

The Bharat Scouts and Guides hall at Shivaji Park has been converted into a 20-bed Covid-19 facility by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities.

It has ventilators and an oxygen facility. Also, 50 other beds are available in the non-HDU facility.

Devgn's NY Foundation has donated to the BMC’s Smiley account, the business development cell of the civic body.

The facility has been set up in record three days and will become operational from Saturday (May 1).

Besides Devgn, filmmakers Luv Ranjan, Boney Kapoor, Anand Pandit, Rajneesh Khanuja, Leena Yadav and Ashim Bajaj, and other personalities from the world of entertainment such as Sameer Nair, Deepak Dhar and Rishi Negi, entrepreneur Tarun Rathi and action director RP Yadav have reportedly made a contribution of over Dh4,95,708.26 to the Smiley Account.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner, G (north) ward, BMC, told Khaleej Times: "Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck Mumbai, Hinduja and Raheja hospitals have been doing an exemplary job. Most patients wanted to take admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of these hospitals. We told Hinduja hospital authorities to increase their capacity. At present, they have a capacity of only 100 beds. We decided to convert an AC wedding banquet hall into an HDU facility."

Dighavkar said that last year the BMC had a Covid-19 Care Centre at Bharat Scouts and Guides hall, and as a result, the same venue was chosen for the HDU facility.

NY Foundation, which had helped in setting up the oxygen centre at Dharavi, wanted to help the BMC authorities to rein in the alarming spread of the contagion.

Dighavkar lauded Devgn’s charitable bid.

"We suggested that they (NY Foundation) sponsor the cost of all medical equipment such as ventilators, intravenous (IV) fluids, oxygen cylinders, and ICU beds. NY Foundation donated Dh4,95,708.26 and within three days, we converted the AC wedding banquet hall into an HDU facility, he added.

The civic authorities have also inked a pact with PD Hinduja Hospital authorities to provide Covid-19 treatment till the raging viral outbreak runs its course.

Joy Chakraborty, Chief Operating Officer (COO), PD Hinduja Hospital, said, “We’re working in tandem with BMC authorities. Though there are logistical challenges to make a full-fledged ICU, we’ll manage with the available infrastructure. We’ve arranged oxygen-supported beds in the HDU. Three ventilators are also available.”