Chandigarh, May 16 - Haryana Chief Minister. Sh. Manohar Lal today inaugurated Guru Tegh Bahadur Sanjivani COVID Hospital in village Bal Jatan near the refinery in Panipat. The hospital has been made functional for the patients from today itself.
While after the inauguration, the Chief Minister also announced that Mahamari Alert/Surakshit Haryana has been extended for a week that is the current restrictions would continue till May 24, 2021, 6:00 am.
Union Petroleum Minister, Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan, and Haryana Health Minister, Sh. Anil Vij were also present at the inauguration of the hospital.
The Chief Minister, said that the newly inaugurated COVID Hospital is named after Guru Tegh Bahadur ji because a great saint like him during his life time had made supreme sacrifice to protect the society. Taking inspiration from Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s life, everyone has to stand united to fight this Pandemic.
More stringent restrictions would be imposed
The Chief Minister urged the people of the State to take necessary COVID-19 precautions and stay safe in their homes. He said that they should step out of their houses only if necessary and urgent. He said that in the coming days, more stringent restrictions would be imposed during the Mahamari Alert/Surakshit Haryana.
The Chief Minister said that there is no shortage of oxygen in Haryana now as the State is presently getting oxygen as per requirement. About RS.28.88 crore have been spent on the construction of this COVID Hospital having a capacity of 500 beds. 300 beds have been made usable since Sunday while in the next two days, admission for 200 beds will also be started, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister thanked the Public Works Department, Refinery DRDO and Health Department, especially the Gram Panchayat Bal Jatan for helping the State Government in this hour of crisis. He said that in the first wave of this Pandemic, an amount of Rs.10.50 crore was contributed by Bal Jatan Gram Panchayat and this time too they have helped the State Government by making a monetary contribution of Rs. 1.50 crore to the state government for the construction of the hospital.
Number of COVID beds increased to 19500
The Chief Minister informed that the Health Department has increased the number of new beds for COVID-19 patients. Earlier, 17500 beds were available with the health department, which has now increased to 19500. Besides this, the State Government is also preparing about 45000 beds for Isolation in which the Gram Panchayat and other social organizations are supporting the State Government and this has also boosted the morale of the people of the state in determinedly fighting this Pandemic. The peak of the second wave of this Pandemic is swiftly spreading, which is said to be 5 times more infectious than the first wave, but inspite of this our doctors and paramedical staff are putting a tough fight against this Pandemic, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Four Centres set up for Prevention of Black Fungus
The Chief Minister also urged the people of the state to be aware of black fungus, a new eye disease. He said that 60 cases of black fungus have been reported so far in Haryana. We also have to be careful of this disease, he said . The State Government has set up four centres at Rohtak PGI, Agroha Medical College, Hisar, SGT Medical College, Gurugram and Kalpana Chawla Medical College, Karnal to prevent the spread of this disease.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Petroleum Minister, Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan said that building such a hospital near the oxygen plant of the refinery was a big demand in today's time. He congratulated Sh. Manohar Lal and Sh. Anil Vij and said such experiment was done in Gujarat when the state was badly hit by disastrous floods.
He said that to meet the oxygen needs, it is being sourced from countries like Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Dubai. About 13,000 tonnes of oxygen have been sourced from abroad. The Government of India and State Government will work together against this Pandemic. All the employees of IOCL and villagers of Bal Jatan Gram Panchayat will be vaccinated by IOCL, said Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan.
He said that Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi had appealed the industry to build houses for labourers at a lower cost so that they can live in these houses. Under Model Cluster, in Panipat houses will be built for labourers at a cost of Rs 100 crore. Model houses will be built for workers at low cost. Workers from outside will also be able to live in these houses.
Health Minister appealed to all to get vaccinated
Health Minister, Sh. Anil Vij, said Doctors and Paramedical Staff and COVID Warriors are working day and night to fight this Pandemic. It is due to their hard work that the number of COVID-19 positive patients in Haryana is declining day by day. The number that was 15,000 per day, has now come down to 9600 per day. Mahamari Alert/Surakshit Haryana has also been successful with the cooperation of the people of the state. He also urged the people of the state to get vaccinated as vaccine is the strongest shield of this disease.
Lok Sabha MP, Sh. Sanjay Bhatia welcomed Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, Union Petroleum Minister, Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan and Health Minister Sh. Anil Vij. Meanwhile, Panipat Export Association also made 100 oxygen concentrators available to the State.
On this occasion, MLA Panipat (City), Sh. Pramod Vij, MLA Panipat (Rural) Sh. Mahipal Dhanda, IOCL Chairman, Sh. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. D.S Dhesi, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department, Sh. Alok Nigam, Principal Secretary and Nodal Officer for COVID-19 in Panipat District, Sh. A.K. Singh, DGP CID, Sh. Alok Mittal, IG, Smt. Mamta Singh and others were also present.