Bhubaneswar: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has written a letter to Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi, urging him to grant permission to Nehru Satabdi Central Hospital (NSCH) at Talcher in Angul district to use it as a COVID-19 facility.
“To bolster and support the decisive steps taken by the Prime Minister, the nation must simultaneously and rapidly ramp up all available health infrastructure for treating the mounting cases of COVID-19,” Pradhan wrote.
Mentioning that (NSCH) under Mahanadi Coalfields Limited was functioning as a COVID-19 hospital during the first wave of the pandemic with 144 beds and six ICU units, Pradhan urged that it should be reactivated again as cases are on the rise in Angul district.
Pradhan stated that it is essential to supplement critical medical infrastructure in the region.
Seeking Joshi’s personal intervention, Pradhan urged him to declare NSCH as COVID-19 hospital and grant permission to MCL officials to arrange for 100 ventilators at the hospital to provide medical care to COVID-19 patients of Angul district.
Notably, Angul Friday reported 173 fresh cases of COVID-19, pushing the district’s tally to 12,762. Currently there are 805 active cases.
PNN