In a bizarre incident the activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) entered the Covid ward of the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital here and distributed juice and other items to the admitted patients. In an apparent attempt to portray that the organisation is serving the patients the act was filmed by the overenthusiastic ABVP workers themselves. In the video the ABVP activists wearing PPE kits are seen talking to the patients who are on oxygen support and giving them fruit juice. They are telling them that they are from ABVP and are in the ward to serve them. One activist is also seen asking a patient to raise his thumb for the service they are rendering. The incident however has raised a question mark on the functioning of the GDMC hospital which has been converted into a dedicated Covid care hospital. It is pertinent to mention here that the Covid ward is a highly restricted area and no one apart from health workers on duty and the sanitation workers are allowed entry. The attendants of the patients too are not allowed entry in the hospital premises. The fact that the ABVP activists were wearing PPE kits too raises a question as to from where they managed to get these kits. It should be mentioned here that there is severe strain on the supply of PPE kits, gloves and N-95 masks and they are not easily available to the health workers. When contacted, the principal of the GDMC Dr Ashutosh Sayana said that some NGOs including the ABVP had requested to help the hospital administration during the pandemic. “They had sent volunteers last year also and we took their services in managing Flu OPD, sample collection point and other works,’’ he said. On being asked as to how they managed to enter the Covid ward the principal said that the incident would be looked into. Former ABVP leader and ex President of DAV PG college Paras Goyal said that the main objective of the ABVP workers was to serve the people and they have been doing it for many days. The whole incident is being blown out of proportion, he added.

The opposition Congress however has attacked the administration for the fiasco. The Congress spokesperson Garima Dasauni said that the act of the ABVP workers is not only deplorable but is an open violation of the guidelines. She said that the state government should take immediate cognisance of the whole episode.