Covid 19: Shoolini begins relief measures for rural patients

HIGHLIGHTS

• Generates Rs 75 lakh of total Rs 1 crore target 
• Provisions for 100 beds
• Medical equipment: oxygen cylinders, concentrators, ventilators, ICU facilities
• First Yogananda Covid Care Centre at Sultanpur village
• 18 beds each to be set up at University Health Centre, SILB

Solan-based Shoolini University has taken the initiative to provide medical relief to Covid 19 patients, primarily in the rural areas of Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. 

The relief includes provisions for about 100 beds, along with necessary medical equipment like oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators, and other ICU facilities. The University has set a target of funding relief worth about Rs 1 crore and has already generated about Rs 75 lakh for the purpose. 

The funds are to be utilised in association with the Himachal Pradesh government health department after consultations with the state Health Minister Mr Rajiv Saijal and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). 

In yet another endeavour, the university is setting up the first Yogananda Covid Care Centre at Sultanpur village. This will house 18 beds. Efforts are on to set up another centre at Kandaghat tehsil soon. 

The project was conceived and executed by the senior management of Shoolini University, including Chancellor Prof PK Khosla, president of the Foundation for Life Sciences and Business Management Saroj Khosla, Pro Chancellor Vishal Anand and Vice Chancellor Prof Atul Khosla. They made significant personal contributions to set up the fund. 

The fund was augmented by philanthropists and social workers like Raj Khosla, an NRI, who contributed Rs 13 lakh and the Vardhman Group, whose chairman SP Oswal contributed Rs 5 lakh. Raj Khosla had earlier made an endowment of Rs 1 crore to set up a cancer research centre on the University campus. Ramesh Softa and Jyoti Bhupendra also contributed Rs 5 lakh each. 

The university staff donated one day’s salary towards the fund. 

Prof PK Khosla has appealed to all citizens to contribute towards the fund. He said the resources would be used with sacred responsibility to help out the poor and marginalised sections of the society in rural areas to fight Covid 19. 

Vice Chancellor Prof Atul Khosla, who used his resources to organise oxygen concentrators and other life-saving equipment, said the university would provide every possible assistance to the authorities. He said the university ambulance would also be made available to transport Covid patients to health facilities.

The Vice Chancellor said 18 fully equipped beds would be set up at the University Health Centre and the same number of beds would be made available at the Shoolini Institute for Liberal Arts and Business Management (SILB). 

The university campus is closed at present but online classes are being conducted for students through its own online learning platform.