By Muslim Mirror Staff
New Delhi: Rahmat Ahsan, 49, was known face to every student as he ran general store for the past 20 years at All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He died on Thursday morning after he failed to get a bed at the hospital.
Rahmat had developed fever over the last few days and an antigen test showed he was positive for COVID-19, The Indian Express (TIE) reported. He tried to get a bed at AIIMS, but failed to do so. He passed away on Thursday.
A healthcare worker, who did not want to be named said, “He tried to get a bed in AIIMS but he could not get one, despite being a part of the campus for so many years. The vacancy is zero at the moment, which means that even if one of us gets sick, we are on our own.”
AIIMS Students’ Association has initiated a fund collection drive to support Rahmat’s family.
Rahmat is survived by his wife and two daughters aged 14 and 12. His brother-in-law Abu Zeeshan (28), said, “He had fever for a few days and on Wednesday it got severe. We tried to get him admitted to the DRDO facility and could not. We knew that there were no beds in AIIMS so we gave up. His antigen test was positive but we could not get an RTPCR test done. Finally, we arranged an oxygen cylinder at home through his contacts. But he passed away at 6:30 am on Thursday.”
Rahmat will be remembered as someone who was always ready to help students at AIIMS. His demise is being hailed as a ”big loss” by students.
Dr Pawan Sinhmar, a resident doctor told TIE “I remember that when the pandemic started and all other stores were shut, he told us that he is with us in our fight against Covid. He had agreed to keep his store open 24 x 7, in order to help us. For some reason, the administration did not allow it… but he was always ready to help.”