300 tonnes of donated emergency Covid-19 supplies have been flown into Delhi. But where is it?

Aid being loaded from UAE on a war footing to help Corona patients in India in time to save them

After the world witnessed the immense stress on the Indian Healthcare system and the endlessly burning funeral pyres mainly due to the lackadaisical approach of the present Central Government – apart from being aghast at the how come an unprepared government let its people die unaided, they also opened their hearts for India. The emotional outpour, the denouncements of the Nero-like political leaders from the Majority-religion appeasing party, mass prayers for India were matched equally with donations of huge supplies of essential emergency and healthcare valuables – mainly Oxygen, Oxygen Concentrators, Medicine, etc which was sent by their countries, among other reasons due to the pressure of their citizens.

For some days it seemed that these countries were competing amongst themselves as who will be donating more than their counterparts. The first offers of help came in from Pakistan and China – even though there is a blanket ban on news of their donations reaching India, many sources have confirmed their official offers. These included an offer of a caravan of 50 fully-loaded ambulances from a Pakistani NGO. Many Indians hearing of these donation that the country was receiving were relieved that their fellow citizens who are unwell or ailing due to Corona Virus will now be able to hold on for an extra while.

Pakistani Cricketer Shoaib Akhtar making an impassioned request to help the Corona patients in India

But where is this over 300 tonnes of donated emergency Corona related supplies which have landed in the past week in Delhi, apart from some that have landed in other airports are en-route. Officially supplies have been offered from 40 countries. Some which have already been received include those from Bahrain, UAE, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Romania, USA, UK, Ireland and France. How much of it has reached the hospitals and how was it divided? Did Delhi get a lion’s share of the donated medical supplies or was it evenly distributed? Did the far-flung and nearby states get equitable share as per their Corona Case-loads or was there some politics that was played out? Read on to get the real picture.

According to a source in the Delhi International Airport Limited, 25 flights have landed in Delhi with more than 5000 oxygen concentrators, more than 3000 Oxygen cylinders, around 1.5 lakh vials of Remdesivir injections – a total of over 300 tonnes within the last week itself.

Patients gasping for Oxygen being helped by conscious co-citizens after the Healthcare facilities collapsed

These emergency supplies which were an aid to the Indian Citizens from their counterparts from across the world – surely channeled through their governments - are lying idle at the airport. It has not reached any state government or any hospital – not even a couple of kilometers away in Delhi which is in throes of Corona and relatives are helplessly watching their loved ones die, writhing in pain, gasping for breath, more so just because of the need of these very same donated essentials which is sent for them.

Funeral Pyres ablaze abashedly in wake of essential medical supplies and oxygen not reaching the patients in time 

Director General of Health Services of Delhi Government is on record saying that they have not received even an injection out of the monumental outpouring of medical essentials the world has sent.

Delhi is facing an acute shortage of oxygen and people are dying in various hospitals after the supplies from domestic channels are not reaching them in name of quotas and other such inane problems.

If that was not all, the source from the Delhi Airport again has said that and with emphasis that there is no record of any of these essential supplies having left the airport abroad any domestic flights to anywhere in India. A couple of days earlier there were reports that an Empowered Group of Ministers where fielding requests from various State governments for these supplies. But as per reports 6 of the State governments contacted have confirmed that they don’t even know if they will receive any share of the donated emergency supplies lying in Delhi airport. These include Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.