Mumbai man Shahnawaz Shaikh sells his SUV to provide free oxygen cylinders to 250 families
Mumbai: 31-year-old Shahnawaz Shaikh has earned appreciation across social media platforms after he sold his SUV to provide free oxygen to over 250 families during the COVID-19 crisis, Mumbai Mirror reported. The report added that before selling the SUV Shahnawaz was using the vehicle as a makeshift ambulance to help people during Corona Pandemic.
When he bought the SUV in 2011, the Malad resident spent extra on a premium number plate – 007 – and a customized music system.
His decision to sell the SUV and provide free oxygen came when the wife of his business partner who was six-month pregnant died of COVID-19 in an autorickshaw, outside a hospital after being turned away from five other hospitals.
When he discussed the incident with his doctor friends, Shahnawaz was told that her life could’ve been saved had she been given oxygen on time. This, Shahnawaz said made him resolved to find a way to help people. He was introduced to a manufacturer by one of his friends. Shahnawaz added that the manufacturer was moved by his decision to provide free oxygen to patients and helped him thoroughly.
To acquire the oxygen, Shahnawaz sold his SUV and his friends spread the word on social media about free distribution of oxygen.
“There are just two simple things we ask from people calling to say they need oxygen cylinders - one, a doctor’s recommendation, and two, that they come to pick it up themselves,” he said. In exceptional cases, like when the entire family is in quarantine, a team of volunteers in protective gear travels across the city with oxygen cylinders. “The farthest we have traveled is from Malad to Haji Ali. Volunteers don’t enter the house and, despite wearing PPEs, maintain social distancing,” he said.
Shaikh said he gives each batch of relatives the oxygen kit and a crash course in its use, which he put together with the help of Dr. Sabauddin Shaikh of Care Hospital. He said, “[Dr. Shaikh] helped us make a video to demonstrate the use of the cylinders. He has also provided other support when needed.” Apart from this, Shaikh also advises each family to consult a doctor on the oxygen pressure required by the patient. “I’m not claiming to provide an alternative to hospitalization. All we can help with is providing life support to people with breathing difficulties,” he said.
Asked if it pained him to sell his SUV, Shaikh’s response was an emphatic “no”. “It’s not hard to give up one car to save someone’s life. Even if I’m blessed by just one grateful family for this deed, I will be able to buy four such cars someday,” he said. Shaikh recalled that just a few weeks ago, at the start of the lockdown, he had used his SUV as a free ambulance for people in Malad. “There are so many poor people in slums in this area who cannot find transportation, even to hospitals. Many of the people I took to the hospital later turned out to be COVID-positive,” he said. Because of this, Shaikh said, he has been taking extra precautions at home. His wife and two-year-old daughter live in one part of the house, which he does not enter unless he has been properly sanitized.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
