New Delhi (NVI) As directed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) are extending all possible assistance to the civil administration or state governments in fight against the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.
They are catering to the civilian population from their existing services in coordination with the state governments, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
In this direction, a 180-bed COVID care centre, with ICU, oxygen and ventilator support, set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is functional in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The DPSU has also prepared a 250-bed facility in Bengaluru and handed over to municipal authorities under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), MoD said.
Another 70-bed facility in Koraput, Odisha and a 40-bed hospital in Nasik, Maharashtra are also operational, MoD said. Work has also been undertaken by HAL to set up a 250-bed COVID care facility in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is expected to be operational in the first week of May. Further, HAL is planning to provide more ventilators and oxygen points at Bangalore and Lucknow, as per the Ministry.
The OFB is providing COVID care services, including oxygen beds, at their facilities in 25 places in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha and Uttarakhand. It has earmarked nearly 60 per cent of its existing strength for COVID-19 care.
Precisely, 813 beds out of total strength of 1,405 are now reserved for COVID patients, the Ministry said. These facilities are in Pune, Ambernath, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chanda, Varangaon and Bhusawal in Maharashtra and at Ishapore and Kolkata in West Bengal.
Other places where OFB is providing its facilities for COVID care are Kanpur (2), Shahjahanpur (1) and Muradnagar (1) in Uttar Pradesh; Jabalpur (3), Itarsi (1) and Katni (1) in Madhya Pradesh; Avadi (1), Aruvankadu (1) and Tiruchirappalli (1) in Tamil Nadu; Medak (1) in Telangana; Dehradun (1) in Uttarakhand and Badmal (1) in Odisha.
Several DPSUs such as Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), BEML Limited, HAL, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Limited and MIDHANI, have also fast-tracked procurement of oxygen plants to deliver to local government hospitals in different states under CSR.
-ARK
