Sikh's largest representative body divert its resources to Covid care

New Delhi: Three dedicated Covid Care Centers (CCC), setting up of an oxygen plant, import of oxygen concentrators from Russia and efforts to import over 500 oxygen concentrators and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from the USA is what the Sikh’s single largest representative body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee  (SGPC) is dong to tackle the Covid challenge against all odds with the sheer dedication to winning the fight against the deadly pandemic and providing treatment to Covid 19  patients from all walks of life.

Zee News talked to SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur who proudly acclaims to have thrown all resources of SGPC for the ‘Sangat during the trying times and vows to continue their fight against the eradication of  Covid. 

“We have opened a 25 bed CCC at  Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib, Alamgir, Ludhiana, 50 bed CCC at Bhai Dal Singh Diwan Hall, Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Bathinda, and another 25 bed CCC at Bholath, Kapurthala where Covid 19 patients are provided preliminary medical aid and medicines as well as oxygen,” said Kaur with a glimmer in her eyes as she compares the government facilities with that of SGPC’s.

These facilities are in addition to an already running dedicated 100-bed hospital for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at Sri Guru Ramdas Charitable Hospital, Amritsar.

Nearly 100 Covid 19 patients are receiving treatment at  Alamgir CCC out of which 55 have recovered and gone home while  12 serious patients were rushed to different hospitals after preliminary examination at the centre” Kaur says while giving an example of one of the CCC.

Though the SGPC’s earnings from the offerings received at gurdwaras have considerably come down due to poor footfall of devotees owing to the coronavirus pandemic yet the same is not any deterrent in Covid care mission of SGPC who has also diverted the medical staff of its Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences to run these facilities.

Despite being a religious organization, Kaur says the SGPC has covered all three regions of Punjab namely Majha, Malwa and Doaba in providing Covid care to the patients.

To fulfil the need for lifesaving gas Oxygen, the shortage of which has cost several lives across the nation, Jagir Kaur says they had imported oxygen concentrators from Russia besides SGPC’s teams was working round the clock to get around 500  oxygen concentrators from the USA. 

SGPC is all set to install its oxygen generation plat in Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences for uninterrupted oxygen langar.

The SGPC had also been holding free Covid  19 vaccination camps. “We have sought permission from the Center government to allow us to import Pfizer’s Covid 19 vaccine from the USA so that we could begin a mass Covid vaccination campaign across the state, “ said Kaur.

The SGPC had also shot off letters to Prime Minister  Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

And if the SGPC gets the Center government’s nod, it will be the first organization to import the Covid vaccine and begin vaccination camps.

The SGPC has also installed two sanitization tunnels at the entrance of the Golden Temple to disinfect the devotees before entering the holiest shrine.