In Meerut, a family s hunt for oxygen ends in death

On April 30, two young men were trying to lift an older, unconscious man at, Meeruts Lala Lajpat Rai Medical college. The older man was Suresh, 60, a fruit seller from Meeruts Nangla Bhattu locality. He was being moved by his desperate, tearyeyed son Shivam and a friend, while his brother Ramesh and wife Babita watched on helplessly. What happened to you Babita sobbed. You were all right till yesterday. Sureshs health had worsened the night before. He felt breathless all of a sudden, Ramesh explained. We first took him into the open air on our terrace, but when that did not work, we went to the doctor. The doctor prescribed some medicines and recommended a, Covid test. The next day, as the family prepared to take Suresh for testing, he passed out. The family then began a search for a ventilator, ferrying Suresh in an erickshaw. We were turned away from a local private hospital, Ramesh told us. They did not have any. By the time his family reached t