By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : It was three years ago when two friends rushed to rescue a couple of people whose car had crashed on a lonely highway. Help arrived too late and the victims died a slow, painful death. And Xgen Lifetech was born, an initiative by a group of five that has since been rushing to accident spots and saving lives.
For samaritans Hardeep Bhati and friend Ashwini Sharma, memories of the night are still fresh.
On their way back from a party late at night, a car overtook them on the Noida highway and crashed. “I can never forget the sight. We kept calling the help lines, but by the time help arrived, it was too late. At that moment, we decided that no one should go through what those people had,” 28-year-old Bhati told IANS.
“We got together with three of our friends and formed Xgen Lifetech, a life line for road accident victims. Till now, we have saved more than 150 lives,” he said.
The organisation gets an average of one call per day.
The primary aim of the organisation, now a registered NGO, is to provide first aid to accident victims and rush them to the nearest hospital. Then the families are informed.
“Our main aim is to save the victim’s life. That’s why whenever we get a call, we rush to the spot, offer immediate medical aid and rush the victim to the nearest hospital.
“Since we have tied up with some hospitals, we try to negotiate treatment expenses with the authorities as well, besides assisting in case of legal hassles. After that, we inform the victims’ family members,” Bhati said.
Xgen Lifetech has tied up with seven hospitals – Fortis, Kailash, Goodwill and Bharadwaj, to name a few -which treat patients brought by Xgen at subsidised rates. The organisation is also in touch with police stations.
“For instance, Kailash Hospital gives 30 percent waiver on medical expenses to the victim. For a poor man, who can’t afford an ambulance and medical treatment, this means a lot and this is exactly what we aspire to do – help the needy,” he said.
Of the 10 trustees of the organisation, other than Bhati and Sharma, who started the initiative and are involved with the organisation full time, the rest work either as software professionals or have their own business set-ups.
“Most of us in the organisation are in the age group of 28-35. But we also have members who are 60 and are as committed to the cause as any other,” Bhati said.
The organisation is, however, only functional in Noida and Ghaziabad. “We have two ambulances, and that too rented ones. We are planning to buy one of our own very soon, but money is always a problem. We are looking for funds and hopefully will expand our services to other places as well. At the moment, all the money spent is from our own pockets,” he said.
To avail oneself of the services of Xgen, one can log on to its website www.xgenlifetech.com and become a member with a minimum payment of Rs.500 annually. For emergency, one can call at 9899577999.