BENGALURU:
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday visited Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre and College and held discussions with officials about establishing a Covid Care Centre on the campus.
Lt Gen B K Repswal, the Commandant of the ASC, responded positively to this proposal, the DCM’s office said in a statement.
Narayan, who is also the head of the state’s COVID task force, assured that the government would provide necessary assistance in this regard, it said.
The DCM’s meeting comes a couple of days after the Karnataka government requested the Defence Minister to consider setting up Covid Care Centres in the state with the help of the Ministry of Defence or Defence Research or Development Organisation (DRDO).
In a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dated May 16, another Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi had said the Department of Defence has a large land bank in Bengaluru and Belagavi, which is suitable for the said cause.
Referring to DRDO’s initiative in setting up exclusive COVID hospitals and medical centers in Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi and Ahmedabad, he said due to a surge in coronavirus cases in Karnataka, hospitals here are facing tremendous pressure and overloaded.
Visited Army Service Corps(ASC) centre & college and discussed to establish a #CovidCareCentre inside the campus.
— Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) May 18, 2021
Thanking Lt.Gen.B.K. Repswal, VSM, the Commandant of the ASC for the positive response. GoK will also provide necessary assistance in this regard.@Prodef_blr pic.twitter.com/Ln8MeWNfNF
Setting up of such covid treatment centres in Bengaluru and Belagavi will not only help patients in the region but will further ease the pressure on existing hospitals and medical professionals, Savadi noted and had requested the Defence Minister to kindly consider it on a priority basis.
Karnataka on Tuesday registered 30,309 new cases of COVID-19 and 525 fatalities, taking the total infection count to 22,72,374 lakh and the toll to 22,838.
The total number of active cases in the state stood at 5,75,028.
