'This is not just an India problem:' Triangle families relay COVID crisis, raise money for aid

As India surpasses 20 million cases of COVID-19, help is pouring in from across the globe, with oxygen and medical supplies arriving from various countries, including the U.S.

In the Triangle, The Hindu Society of North Carolina is among many groups trying to provide aid as India struggles with a new peak of cases and a shortage of hospital beds and critical supplies.

The situation in India is desperate.

“The number of ICU beds in the country is much much less than the demand,” said Swadesh Chatterjee, the chairman of the US-India Friendship Council.

“People are dying in front of the hospital. People are dying going to the hospital. People are dying at home," he said.

The local businessman said hundreds of thousands of cases of the novel coronavirus are reported in India each day, and the number of deaths is staggering. He gets horrific calls from friends and family daily.

“Everybody I talk to, when my phone rings, always it’s bad news. I know people who’ve got 17 family members who are positive. Seven of them died in the last one week,” he said.

The impact is felt all over the country.

“My dad has already lost three family members, and four are currently in the hospital, one in serious condition,” said Nida Allam, a Durham County Commissioner.

She shared what her family is going through and how it touches us all.

“Remove this idea in notion that it’s not our country so we shouldn’t get involved. These are human beings that are suffering and or fearful because there’s no aid they can fully depend on,” Allam said.

Hospitals and morgues are full. Supplies are dwindling. Chatterjee, who leads an IT company, has raised $100,000 to get equipment there as soon as possible.

“We are organizing here from my point of view in the next 72 hours. We are trying to send at least 2,000 oxygen concentrators to India," he said.

“We don’t just need money. We need equipment. We need medical supplies. We need ventilators. We need ICU beds,” added Chatterjee.

According to experts, if the crisis in India continues at this rate, one million people will die in that country due to COVID-19 by August.