Meet Pyare Khan, man who spent Rs 85 lakh for procuring 400 mt of oxygen for COVID-19 hospitals

Pyare Khan, who once used to sell oranges in Nagpur, has supplied 400 metric tonnes of oxygen in the city so far.

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New Delhi: Pyare Khan, a transport business owner from Maharashtra’s Nagpur, spent Rs 85 lakh for supplying medical oxygen to hospitals. 

Khan, who once used to sell oranges, has supplied 400 metric tonnes of oxygen in the city so far. 

When offered compensation by the local administration, Khan refused to take any money. Khan stated that it was his duty-bound 'zakat' during the holy month of Ramzan to help the needy. 

After witnessing the shortage and rising demand of oxygen amid surge in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, Khan started procuring oxygen tankers from cities including Bellary, Rourkela and Bhilai at prices much higher than the market rate and started delivering them to hospitals in Nagpur. 

Khan who had a humble beginning spent his childhood in the slum of Taj Bagh in Nagpur. In 1995, he started selling oranges outside Nagpur Railway station. After this, he became an autorickshaw driver while opened his transport business a few years later. Today, his company is worth Rs 400 crore with 300 trucks under it.