New Delhi: Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) has set up a 24-hour helpline for providing oxygen cylinders to Covid-19 patients across New Delhi-NCR. It is called 'EEMA 24 Hours Oxygen Support Helpline for DELHI NCR’.


At a time when the Covid-19 cases in the national capital are on a rise, it becomes imperative to have a working mechanism to help the patients and families in need. The shortage of oxygen supply in New Delhi is not hidden any longer; in such a situation EEMA is making sure that verified contacts of oxygen suppliers are forwarded to people in need. They are in a real sense, the aggregators between the patients and the oxygen supply. 



There is a chain of people that are working for EEMA, both on-ground and online. First, the volunteers on the ground collect information about the availability of oxygen from various oxygen suppliers, then they forward that information to their managers who then forward it to the control room from where the messages are circulated.


"We started working on the ground when the pandemic became really intense. There was a state of panic. But it takes a lot of research in the entire process. One cannot find information about oxygen supply centers on Google. All the oxygen supply plants are in Industrial areas like Naraina in Delhi. We deploy volunteers on the ground who are present outside these oxygen supply centers to provide real-time updates about the availability of oxygen," said Vipul Pandhi, a member of EEMA. He also told us about the increasing challenges in these times. 


Roshan Abbas, President, EEMA, said, “We have taken it upon ourselves to support the call of the hour. This pandemic is testing us all but it brings out the best in the event managers who are handling every crisis thrown their way. I am extremely proud of every EEMA member and the NEC who are doing their best to help humanity in every way.” 


It has become increasingly difficult in Delhi to find verified locations for oxygen cylinders as most suppliers have switched off their phones due to a shortage. There are 40 volunteers working for EEMA right now. They have identified 35 locations in Delhi where there's the availability of oxygen cylinders.


Siddhartha Chaturvedi, General Secretary EEMA, said, "The cases in Delhi have been increasing at an alarming level and seeing such a crisis situation, we decided to set up this helpline." He also added, "Right now we've put in separate contact numbers which also happen to be personal number of EEMA volunteers who can be contacted at different time intervals, but soon we would be launching a single helpline number that makes it more convenient for the people.”


Mr. Pandhi says: "By the virtue of us being professional event managers, we know how to micro-manage and thus it helps in coordination between a set of 5-6 people at a time."


EEMA has WhatsApp and Facebook groups through which they are sharing and obtaining information. "We have made specific Facebook groups through which we share information about the verified oxygen suppliers.


"On a daily basis we are getting 1500-2000 calls from across New Delhi-NCR," said Pandhi. 



Pandhi said that they started taking this work seriously when they saw that the health system is virtually collapsing and people are finding it difficult to find verified oxygen supply sources. "It is like a nightmare! We are getting SOS calls from hospitals at 4 am for oxygen cylinders. Thus, we are doing the job of aggregators so that the needy patients get oxygen without any delay," he said. 


The team of 40 people, out of which almost 20 are on the ground are no less than Covid warriors. They have identified 35 oxygen supply centers so far across New Delhi. The initiative is not only saving lives but also saving the time of the relatives of Covid-19 patients. During the time of fake news and unverified messages, EEMA is doing a job of filtering and providing the correct information about oxygen cylinders in Delhi-NCR. 


They are also in collaboration with RED FM.



Remember, EEMA does not provide an oxygen supply. They are only helping with real-time information about refilling your cylinder.


 


Use the following numbers to obtain information about verified oxygen supply centers in New Delhi.


  


24 HRS EEMA Oxygen Helpline Numbers


8:00am-12:00pm - 9711170220
12:00pm-4:00pm - 86964 96094
4:00pm-8:00pm - 85878 34472
8:00pm-12:00am - 81266 54666
12:00am-4:00am - 96544 18883
4:00am-8:00am - 98733 25428