Hyderabad-based NGO supplies free oxygen in tribal thandas

HYDERABAD: Tribal thandas, which are largely inaccessible, have been badly hit due to Covid-19 and consequent restrictions on the movement of people. With no major hospitals around, tribals suffer a lot due to the pandemic virus.

Hyderabad-based NGO Social Data Initiatives Forum (SDIF) has taken up the task of supplying oxygen cylinders and other emergency health care material and medicines to people living in the far flung tribal habitations of Telangana. SDIF has come out with a technology to identify Covid-19 patients in need of oxygen in tribal habitations and supply them with oxygen cylinders free of cost. The SDIF’s program integrates with Twitter API (application programming interface) and identifies tweets that have requests for oxygen. “The back-end team immediately calls those in need and arranges for oxygen,” said SDIF founders Azam Khan and Khalid Saifullah

The initiative has helped thousands of Covid-19 patients, especially in rural and tribal areas. “We tried to connect remote villages with technology and provided oxygen cylinders at their doorstep. We are assisting needy people all over India. We’ve already had setup oxygen banks in Hyderabad, Vikarabad, Kadapa, Guntur and Narayanpet. In other locations, we have identified NGOs providing oxygen. This network of NGOs is helping all, including people living in far-away tribal habitations,” Khan told TOI.
There is no deposit for the oxygen cylinder and for white card holders, transportation and refill are free.