Shahjahanpur: This is a clear case of superstition and faith riding over science as people in the Bahadurganj area in Shahjahanpur are making a beeline for a Peepal tree after being declared COVID-19 positive.
About half a dozen members from two families who have tested positive are now lying under the Peepal tree for a dose of oxygen.
Urmila, one of the women lying under the tree, says, “I was having a problem in breathing and there was no hospital or oxygen support. Someone told me that the Peepal tree gives out oxygen and my family brought me here. I am now feeling better and can breathe better.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Roshanlal Varma reached the area and met the people. Expressing anger over the state of affairs in health care, he even called up district officials on Saturday and asked them to shift the patients to hospitals,
Urmila, however, said that since she was feeling better under the Peepal tree, she did not want to be shifted to the hospital.
Her family member said, “We were told that Peepal gives out maximum oxygen. Since there was no option left, we brought my aunt here and she has recovered to a large extent. What matters is that she is improving and does not need oxygen support. We do not care what people say.”
Medical experts in Lucknow, meanwhile, claim that the impact is more psychological than physical. “It is probably fresh air that is helping people breathe easy,” said a King George’s Medical University (KGMU) doctor.