Ashram care centre to open tomorrow in Burari, more planned

New Delhi: The Covid care centre at Burari’s Sant Nirankari Samagam Ashram will be opened for admissions from Monday onwards, health minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday. The centre was ready some time back, but its opening had got delayed due to oxygen shortage. Ashram authorities say they have made preparations for 1,000 beds. “We have made all preparations, including beds, food supply, etc.Medical staff, oxygen and equipment will be provided by Delhi government. Initially, 500 beds will be made operational and the number will be ramped to 1,000,” an ashram official said.
“The site was used for weekly satsang congregations before the pandemic struck. It will now be used to save the lives of people of Delhi,” the official added. Jain said that he visited the 1,000-bedded centre in Burari on Saturday evening where he met doctors and ensured preparedness to tackle the situation.
More centres are coming up in the city, which has been hit hard by the pandemic’s fourth wave. Manjinder Sirsa, who heads Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee, said that they were also setting up a 250-bed Covid care centre with 100 oxygen concentrators. “It will soon be operational at Bhai Lakhi Shah Vanjara Hall in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj,” he added.
Jain has also announced that a 100-bed extension of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital is being developed in Rohini by Rotary Club. “Together, we will defeat this pandemic,” he said. Member of Parliament Vivek Tankha tweeted that the project is estimated to take four weeks.
Dr Navneet Kumar Goel, who is the medical director of BSA Hospital, in a letter to Rotary International, stated that the hospital would run the facility while the club would provide infrastructure on the allocated space. “BSA Hospital intends to use this facility for the next five years or till the pandemic lasts. Rotary will construct a liveable structure in one month,” the letter states.
The project will also include development of an oxygen plant and biomedical waste management system.
While several new Covid-19 care centres are coming up in the capital, most of them have been affected by oxygen shortage. TOI had earlier reported how Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre in Radha Soami Satsang Beas Ashram in Chhatarpur was operating at low capacity due to oxygen shortage.