Given the increase in the number of Covid figures in Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory Administration has rightly announced a three-day lockdown from April 29th evening till May 02, 2021 morning to prevent the spread of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main purpose of the lockdown is to prevent people from venturing out and to control the virus spread though in a limited way on these three days and deploy the energy of the administration for other strengthening measures.
It is an appropriate announcement and people have been expecting this any day and thus have sufficient time to complete their weekend purchases by Thursday evening and follow the lockdown norms. The UT government had already imposed night curfew from 8.00 P.M to 6.00 A.M from 20 April. While announcing fresh restrictions that came into force from Thursday evening, the Administration said the night curfew will continue.
The J&K administration has already announced that its hospitals and health centres are well prepared and have sufficient availability of medicines, oxygen supply, ventilators and beds for treating those infected by the second wave of COVID-19.
Amidst this assurance, another report that brought a sigh of relief to the worried lot here is the announcement by the Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla about the establishment of two 500-bedded Covid hospitals, one each in Jammu and Srinagar by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
Mr. Bhalla was chairing a high-level meeting wherein J&K Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam and Financial Commissioner Health Atal Dulloo briefed him with their feedback on the prevailing Covid situation in the Union Territory.
The J&K UT has witnessed a consistent surge in patient-load over the past few days. According to the official version, the existing health care facilities are adequately catering to the needs of patients; however, a continuation of this ongoing upward trend may lead to a shortage of COVID beds. To successfully mitigate likely shortages in medical facilities, it is prudent that some temporary Covid hospitals be constructed well in time.
It is imperative on the part of the administration that the upcoming hospitals must be equipped with isolation beds having oxygen support and adequate doctors and para-medical staff with fully equipped ICU beds.
Assessing the requirement of dedicated Covid infrastructure in the Union territory, the Union Home Secretary asked the Government of Jammu and Kashmir to immediately identify suitable locations for constructing 500-bedded hospitals while asking DRDO to evaluate and submit corresponding proposal estimates through a team of experts.
As per the reports, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir has identified two patches of land in Jammu and Srinagar for the early start of construction work. However, how fast will the DRDO with assistance from J&K Administration complete the project will be of immense curiosity for the people here. Notoriously known for its slow outputs, the Jammu Kashmir administration could not complete the installation of its Oxygen plants in 36 Hospitals and Health centres till date at the cost of 223 Crores within a committed period of four months as announced on Oct 10, 2020.
In the past, the Defence Research and Development Organization has built 1000 bedded temporary COVID hospitals across the country in approximately 12 days each. The construction of two 500-bedded hospitals in J&K will greatly reinforce medical infrastructure for dedicated COVID care in the Union territory.
The people in Jammu and Kashmir pray and hope that they would not see Delhi’s unfortunate plight repeated here.
