ITANAGAR, Mar 31: The state government has initiated a slew of proactive measures, beginning with providing funds to all 26 deputy commissioners, to combat Covid-19.
“Each DC has been provided Rs 12 lakhs from the state disaster response fund, totalling Rs 3.12 crore, to deal with this pandemic,” Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Tuesday.
A separate fund of Rs 1.30 crore has been released from the CM’s relief fund to the superintendents of police, he said.
The government has also released a total of Rs 15 crore under the Mukhya Mantri Rogi Kalyan Kosh (MMRKK) to the district administrations.
Khandu said the guidelines of the MMRKK have been relaxed to the extent that 80 percent of funds at the disposal of the districts can be used for procurement of medicines, consumables, and equipment.
The remaining 20 percent is to be utilized for conducting health camps and engaging doctors, retired doctors, paramedics, retired paramedics, and contingency staffs for the next three months, he said.
The chief minister appealed to retired health professionals to volunteer to be part of the reserve staff to supplement the current human resources and staffing shortages in the state. Interested health professionals have been requested to contact the health services director in Naharlagun.
Meanwhile, personal protective equipment have been provided to the frontline response teams across the state.
“A total of 10,000 N95 masks from HLL, 300 VTMs from ICMR, and thermal scanners reached the state today (Tuesday) and distribution is underway,” the CM said.
In order to address the shortage of medical equipment due to the lockdown, the government is arranging a special chartered cargo plane from New Delhi to Guwahati on Wednesday to ferry essential medical equipment like surgical masks, PPE, and other accessories, he said, adding that medical items for sanitization have already been brought to the state.
State-run helicopters have been put into service to deliver rations to the people living in far-flung areas unconnected by roads. The first such helicopter sortie was made to Vijaynagar, in Changlang district, on Tuesday, and another five sorties have been planned for the week.
“As preparedness measures, ICU with ventilators have been set up in TRIHMS. Isolation wards and quarantine rooms have been identified in all the districts, besides helpline and control room working round the clock,” Khandu said. (CM’s PR Cell)
