By Rini Dutta,
At the height of the last coronavirus surge, months before the current second wave, minority Sikhs, in a gesture of humanity, began providing free ambulance service for COVID-19 patients in India's capital city.
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee fielded calls to transport infected patients around the clock during the crucial months last year, and its volunteer drivers drove them to hospitals irrespective of their background or religion.
In October, an 85-year-old man accompanied by his son got into Inderpreet Singh's ambulance and lay on a portable bed.
Traffic slows down during late afternoon rush hours, but the 36-year-old Singh knew which route to take to quickly get him to a hospital.
About a half-hour later, after seeing the older man disappear into the hospital, Singh closed the ambulance door.
In India, people needing hospitalization often pay for private ambulances to get to a hospital. So as the virus began spreading in the city, ambulance fees skyrocketed from 1,000-2,000 rupees ($13-$27) to 8,000-25,000 rupees, according to the Sikh committee.
Amid a clamor for affordable service, the committee answered the call of duty and started free transport service in July with four ambulances in New Delhi.
Singh, one of the committee's volunteers, said the organization received calls from "many corona patient family members who cannot afford such a huge amount of payment for ambulances."
The committee transported around 60 to 70 patients by the end of September, while donations covered the monthly cost of around 150,000 rupees for the maintenance of each ambulance and drivers' expenses.
The committee has its office in central New Delhi, inside a Gurdwara, where Sikhs come together for congregational worship.
Inside the office, space was provided for drivers to take a bath and prepare themselves for their next free ambulance service shifts.
Underpinning the committee's work is the Sikhs' belief that everyone is equal before God. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak, a figure who advocated reforming Hinduism in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Sikh community represents less than 2 percent of India's population of over 1.3 billion, with most of the Sikhs living in the northern part of the South Asian country.
The country saw its new virus cases peak in September, but hospital beds remained occupied for a while. From October to November, the committee often received calls from COVID-19 patients who wanted oxygen cylinders delivered to their homes where they were being quarantined.
Earlier, when the government had imposed a lockdown to stem the virus's spread, the committee also provided food to migrant workers who had lost their jobs due to the measure.
Singh, who had been involved in the work as a volunteer, got infected with the virus in June.
Afraid that he might get reinfected, his family opposed him being an ambulance driver.
"They would stop me from stepping out of the house," Singh recalled.
But his family came to accept his desire to serve those who need help. "Now they have accepted my situation and my priorities in life," he said.
Besides driving ambulances for emergencies, Singh helped dispatch them and coordinate with the patients' families. He could not do without a cellphone.
As the number of newly infected cases declined in the capital region in late December, the committee stopped receiving calls for the ambulance service, but Singh feels proud that he could help save many lives during the crucial months.
"If I get the chance again in the future, I believe I will be the first person in Delhi to take the initiative for helping humankind," Singh said. "This is what I want to do. Life is very short and we should help humanity.
With India currently undergoing a second wave of virus cases after increasing again from late February, he may indeed get that chance.
Singh said that if a call comes in from any coronavirus patient, the committee would consider resuming the ambulance service.
