Hospital in Dubai Waives Off Rs 1.52 Cr Bill Of Telangana COVID-19 Patient

HYDERABAD: In a humanitarian gesture, a hospital in Dubai waived off Rs 1.52 crore bill of a  COVID-19 patient from Telangana. A person named Odnala Rajesh, aged 42 from Jagitial district was admitted to a Dubai hospital on April 23 complaining of some illness. He later tested positive for coronavirus. He was treated for 80 days for which a total bill of Rs 1.52 crores (7,62,555  Dirhams) was generated. 

On realising that the patient is unable to pay the huge amount, Gundelli Narsimha, who admitted him at the hospital and visited him regularly, sought the help of Sumanth Reddy, an Indian Consulate volunteer in Dubai. Responding to the request, Sumanth Reddy along with Ashok Kotecha of BAPS Swaminarayan Trust, represented the matter to Harjeeth Singh, Consul (Labour) of the Indian consulate in Dubai, to bail out the poor worker.

Harjeeth Singh wrote a letter to the hospital management asking them to waive off the bill amount on humanitarian grounds and the management responded positively and waived off the bill before discharging the patient.

Ashok Kotecha provided flight tickets to the patient Odnala Rajesh and also to his escort. They reached RGI Airport on Tuesday and they were granted a 14-day home quarantine before being sent back to his native village.