Bichitra - The Bengali Association of Manitoba Inc., formed in the year of 1978, is the oldest and the largest Bengali Association in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is a non-sectarian, non-political and non-profit organization. Its activities are conducted on voluntary basis following guidelines stated in the ‘By-Laws' which were adopted by the 'General Body' (membership) of Bichitra.

As we are all aware, India is battling with the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, and West Bengal is one of worst affected states amongst other parts of India. Due to a high surge in the affected number of people, the entire health system has collapsed and the existing infrastructure is not sufficient to address the demand. Rural part of India is also badly affected by this second wave, and the condition there is more deplorable due to lack of basic infrastructure.

The state is facing an acute shortage of oxygen supply and as cases continue to spike, people are dying on the road due to lack of oxygen, hospital beds and life-saving medications.

The medical and public health professionals struggle to contain the emerging new strains of the virus. Despite the introduction of the vaccination drive in India, the nation and the state are also facing a severe shortage of vaccines, leading to a surge of patients in hospitals.

The stats as of 15th May in West Bengal is:
Confirmed Cases: 10,94,802
Cured Cases: 9,50,017
Death: 12,993

This is a calamity of unprecedented proportions and needs our immediate support and attention. This is a high time to intervene with the help of our members and well-wishers to protect the life of the people. (Pic Courtesy: Reuters)

Bichitra has reached out to Mukti - a renowned NGO, who with the help of volunteers, is helping hospitals and COVID-affected patients at the ground-level on a war-footing. We will be working with Mukti as a 'Calamity Relief Partner' to provide oxygen concentrators/medical aids, etc. to the people in need. The budget for the initiatives Bichitra is willing to support is as follows, depending on the amount fundraised:

1. One unit of 10LPM Oxygen Concentrator Support (incl 12% GST and Freight Charges) including admin and local transport - ₹ 95,000

2. One unit of 5LPM Oxygen Concentrator Support (incl 12% GST and Freight Charges) including admin and local transport - ₹ 70,000

3. Medical Kit Support (min 100 units @ ₹ 650/unit) - ₹ 65,000

4. To Support 1 Cloud Kitchen (min 50 units @ ₹ 6,500/unit) - ₹19,500

5. One basic MCCU (Mukti Covid Care Unit) - ₹ 2,34,000

This includes:
2 Oxygen Concentrator Support (incl GST and Freight Charges) for ₹ 1,40,000,
100 units of Basic MCCU for ₹ 65,000,
2 pulse oxymeters for ₹ 4,000
Consultation Support for ₹ 10,000
Travel/Admin/Monitoring/Sanitizers for ₹ 15,000

The funds raised through this humble effort within Bichitra's member base and beyond will be donated to Mukti (an FCRA compliant organization). They will provide details where our contributed dollars have been spent for the COVID relief.

We appeal to all our members, and their friends and families, to come forward and donate generously towards the relief activities.

Here is a link to Mukti's website:

https://muktiweb.org/ 

Here is a link to the COVID situation in West Bengal:

Kolkata is already running out of hospital beds