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Ashwath Narayan appalled at GKVK centre mess, tells nodal officer Kataria to take action
He also took BBMP Joint Commissioner Ashok DR and tahsildar Suresh to task for mismanaging the CCC
BENGALURU:
Shocked at the sub-standard facilities in the Covid Care Centre at the Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK), Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan has directed IAS officer Rajender Kumar Kataria, nodal officer for CCCs, to initiate action against the erring officials.
Paying a surprise visit to the 712-bed facility on the University of Agriculture Scienes (UAS) campus on Ballari Road, the Deputy CM had a first-hand experience of the problems faced by Covid-19 patients at the CCC. He observed the lack of cleanliness and the sub-standard food and medication provided.
Patients complained to Dr Narayan via video conferencing that doctors were not coming to treat them. They also said bedsheets were not changed, toilets not cleaned and even drinking water was in short supply. “They are not just ignoring us but treating us with indignation,” one of the patients said.
Late-comer doc rapped
Dr Narayan gave a mouthful to one of the doctors who came late for work, and asked Kataria to initiate action against her.
He also took BBMP Joint Commissioner Ashok and tahsildar Suresh to task for mismanaging the CCC. “There is no question of excusing you people for being so inhumane,” he said.
The Deputy CM, however, was happy with the facilities at the horticulture hostel CCC in the same campus and appreciated the work of both the doctors and the officials.
Jnanabharati CCC
Earlier, Dr Narayan visited a CCC being readied at the Jnanabharati campus. “Covid-19 patients from this part of the city will be admitted here,” he said.
Private hospitals warned
The Deputy CM said action, including cancelling licences and filing criminal cases, would be initiated against private hospitals not treating Covid patients or charging exorbitant rates, and mentioned the government’s action against Vikram and Apollo Hospitals in the city.
Sriramulu’s ‘Only God…’ remark
On Health Minister B Sriramulu’s recent remark that ‘only God can save us from Covid-19’, he said there was no need to read too much into it. “All of us are working hard to contain the pandemic. Everything is fine in the state. If that was not the case, the situation would have become far worse. The Health Minister must have meant ‘let there be God’s grace on all the work that the government is doing’,” he said.
Siddu’s graft charge…
On the charge of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah that there is large-scale corruption in Covid-related procurements, the Deputy CM said the Congress leader was trying to find a needle in a haystack. “We will give an account for every penny spent,” he said.
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