A hospital in Dubai has waived the Rs 1.52 crore bill of a Telangana worker who was treated there for COVID-19.
The 42-year-old Odnala Rajesh was admitted to Dubai Hospital on April 23 and had tested positive for COVID-19. He recovered after 80 days (almost 3 months) of treatment and the hospital handed him a bill of 7,62,555 Arab Emirate Dirham (Rs 1 crore 52 lakh).
Gundelli Narasimha, president of the Gulf Workers’ Protection Society in Dubai, took the Telangana worker to the hospital and was visiting him regularly. He then brought the matter to the attention of Sumanth Reddy, an Indian Consulate volunteer in Dubai. Reddy and Ashok Kotecha of BAPS Swaminarayan Trust reached out to Harjeet Singh, Consul (Labour) of Indian Consulate in Dubai, to help the poor worker.
Harjeet Singh took up the case, writing a letter to the Dubai Hospital management, requesting them to waive the bill on humanitarian grounds. They responded positively and waived the bill.
Even more, Ashok Kotecha of BAPS Swaminarayan Trust provided free flight ticket to Rajesh and his escort Dyavara Kankaiah and paid Rs 10,000 for pocket expenses. The Telangana workers reached Hyderabad by an Air India Express flight.
Rajesh has now been sent to 14-day home quarantine in his village in Jagtiyal district, Telangana.
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