As an IAF aircraft ferried some much-needed oxygen containers from Singapore on Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday ordered all the defence public sector undertakings and Ordnance factories to throw open their health facilities for civilian Covid patients.
Assuring that the defence ministry will take all steps to help the State Governments in meeting the corona challenge, Rajnath also ordered more beds for the Sardar Patel corona care centre in the national Capital.
Taking these decisions after holding a high-powered review meeting here virtually on Saturday, he also said a 1,000-bed hospital has already become operational in Gujarat. Another hospital with a capacity of more than 500 beds will also start functioning in the next three to four days in Lucknow, he said. Both these hospitals are set up with the help of the defence ministry.
Meanwhile, one C-17 transport aircraft of the IAF left the Hindon airbase near Ghaziabad for Singapore early Saturday morning to airlift four empty cryogenic oxygen containers. These containers were later off- loaded at Panagarh airbase in West Bengal. These filled up containers will be transported to the designated centres in the country.
Another C-17 aircraft left the Hindon base for Pune to load up two empty cryogenic oxygen container trucks which were then flown to Jamnagar air base. The same aircraft is currently on its second shuttle from Pune to Jamnagar, with a load of 2 more empty containers.
Similarly, one C-17 transported two empty containers from Jodhpur to Jamnagar earlier in the day, IAF officials said here on Saturday. One IAF Chinook helicopter and one An32 transport aircraft took COVID testing equipment from Jammu to Leh and from Jammu to Kargil, respectively. The equipment consisted of Bio Safety cabinets, centrifuges and stabalisers. These machines have been made by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and now given to Ladakh to enhance testing.
In New Delhi, Rajnath during the meeting said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is adding another 250 beds by Saturday evening at its Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Covid Hospital here.
The minister conducted the review at a virtual meeting attended by Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and DRDO chairman G Satheesh Reddy, among others.
“All health facilities of Defence PSUs & Ordnance Factory Board have been allowed to provide health services to local COVID-19 affected civilian population. The MoD officials and the three Services are closely monitoring the progress of various initiatives taken by the Ministry,” he said in another tweet.
“The Indian Air Force is taking sorties to reduce the transportation time of Oxygen and other critical supplies. One C-17 has reached Changi airport in Singapore today. These containers of cryogenic oxygen tanks will help boosting the oxygen supply in the country,” Rajnath’s office said.
The Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) has deployed additional doctors, including specialists, super specialists and paramedics, at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) COVID hospital in Delhi to cater to the current surge in COVID-19 cases.