Army opening hospitals for people wherever possible, force chief tells PM Modi

New Delhi: Indian Army chief General M.M. Naravane said on Thursday that the force is opening hospitals for the local people wherever possible seeing the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country.

After visiting the forward locations in Siachen and eastern Ladakh on Wednesday, Naravane met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to brief him on the various initiatives taken by the Army to help in Covid management.

The Army chief informed the Prime Minister that medical staff of the force are being made available to various state governments. He also told Modi that the Army is setting up temporary hospitals in various parts of the country.

Naravane also apprised the Prime Minister that the Army is opening its hospitals for civilians wherever possible and the citizens can approach their nearest Army hospitals.

He informed the Prime Minister that the Army is helping with its manpower for imported oxygen tankers and vehicles where specialised skills are required to manage them.

On April 27 in Ranchi, in response to the requisition for medical assistance sought by the state government, the Military Hospital in Namkum opened a 50-bed Covid care facility for the local people.

The modalities of setting up the facility were discussed by a team of Army officers led by the GOC, Cockerel Division, with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

On April 29, the Indian Army established a dedicated Covid facility at the Old Command Hospital complex in Pune where substantial capacity has been created for treating the local people referred by the district medical officer.

The facility has a dedicated team of Army doctors and paramedical staff to take care of Covid patients.

This is in addition to the assistance provided by the Army for opening a 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad, and a 100-bed isolation facility in Barmer, Rajasthan.

The force is making similar efforts at multiple locations in Madhya Pradesh, under which a 150-bed facility in Bhopal and two 40-bed facilities in Gwalior and Saugor have been established.