Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of app-based cab aggregator Ola, has launched its O2ForIndia initiative aimed at providing free and easy access to oxygen concentrators for home isolation patients during the ongoing wave of COVID-19 infections in the city.
The firm launched O2ForIndia in the presence of Industries and IT Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan here on Wednesday.
The initiative to be availed through Ola app would be free of cost, including doorstep delivery and pickup. The foundation had made available 500 oxygen concentrators initially and this would be scaled up as per need with about 10,000 concentrators available across the country.
Ola Foundation partnered with GiveIndia for the O2ForIndia initiative which would enable caregivers and home isolation patients to place requests for oxygen concentrators through Ola App by providing few basic details. Once necessary details were provided, Ola would arrange for free delivery of oxygen concentrator by specially trained personnel through Ola cabs. These concentrators would be picked up and thereafter, sterilised for making them ready for use by the next patient.
Formally launching the service, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan said the entire process of purchasing a concentrator and owning it is cumbersome and individuals found it very difficult to access it. The service launched by Ola is valuable and people should make use of the facility to get aided in their quick recovery. The State on its part would augment this effort with additional oxygen concentrators to ensure that no needy person is deprived of the concentrators, he said.
Ola COO Gaurav Porwal, who shared the working model of the agreement with the State government over web conference, stressed the need for making O2 concentrators reachable to everyone in less than three to four hours. The firm had created five hubs for storing and maintenance operations like sterilisation and deployment of the concentrators would start once the basic documents are uploaded by those requiring the service of the Ola App.
