Touts enter the fray as patients scramble for beds

They are taking advantage of lack of transparency in private quota, say officials

Uday Kumar, a resident of Rajajinagar, was desperately trying to find an ICU bed for his friend who was suffering from COVID-19. He got the same answer from every private hospital he called: “There are no ICU beds available at this moment.” As his search for a bed grew more frantic, someone sent him a number that was doing the rounds on social media. “When I called up the number, a man picked up the phone and assured me of bed and even an ambulance to pick my friend from his house. He wanted ₹25,000 for the service. I was willing to pay, but ultimately did not take it, as we finally got an ICU bed through the system,” he said. Uday’s recent experience is not unusual. Many people in their hunt for oxygenated or ICU beds — a commodity that is proving to be as rare as oxygen supply — are encountering touts, who are successfully taking care of hospitalisation for them at exorbitant rates.