This is no time for politics, Rajnath tells opposition
LUCKNOW : Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday advised the opposition to not do ‘dirty politics’ while a pandemic was raging in the country.
“Mistakes are often committed by those who make efforts. Underlining shortcomings of the government is no solution to the problem,” he said in Lucknow, while adding, “Those busy in highlighting the shortcomings are free to submit suggestions.”
The defence minister, who is on a one-day trip to his Lok Sabha constituency, inspected the two recently inaugurated makeshift hospitals set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) respectively in association with the UP government. He was accompanied by chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Singh cited the World Health Organization (WHO) report on Uttar Pradesh government’s initiative on door-to-door active case tracing in rural UP to appreciate the state government’s handling of the crisis.
“You may or may not have seen today’s news. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has praised the work of the Uttar Pradesh government. It is not a small thing,” he said.
In a tweet on Monday, the WHO said, “In #India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh, the state government has initiated house-to-house active case finding of #COVID-19 in rural areas to contain transmission by testing people with symptoms for rapid isolation, disease management and contact tracing.”
The defence minister and chief minister carried out the inspection of 255-bed makeshift Covid hospital at Haj House established by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the 505-bed Atal Bihari Vajpayee COVID hospital constructed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Avadh Shilpgram, Lucknow.
“The 255-bed hospital, established by HAL, will prove to be a boon in tackling critical Covid cases,” the defence minister said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted this pandemic as a challenge and the government is doing everything possible to tackle the challenge,” he said, adding that many countries are helping India at this hour of crisis because of the good diplomatic relations forged by the prime minister.
Singh also conveyed his condolences to the families of the COVID-19 victims.
The chief minister appreciated the gesture of the central government, especially defence ministry and railways, in lending a helping hand to UP in times of need.
“I am thankful to central government, especially defence ministry that facilitated the 500bed Covid hospital, built by DRDO and 255-bed Covid hospital, built by HAL in Lucknow. Another Covid facility of 750-bed set up by DRDO in Varanasi too has been made operational,” said the CM.
Adityanath also thanked PM Modi. “Through PM Cares fund, UP would be getting around 300 oxygen plants that would be installed in all districts here,” he said.
He said in setting up the plants the DRDO again is playing a major role. He also thanked railways for sending Oxygen Express trains to overcome the demand of oxygen in UP.
He said it was perhaps for the same reason in last 10 days UP has witnessed a sharp reduction in the numbers of active Covid cases.
The HAL-UP COVID hospital was constructed in less than 20 days. The hospital is equipped with oxygen facilities. 130 beds are oxygen supported, 100 beds are HFNC supported, and 25 beds have ventilator support. The hospital has the best modern medical care facilities.
Lt Gen Y Dimri, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief gave an overview of the multifaceted role being played by the Central Command of the Indian Army in supporting the fight against Covid.