The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will set up two 500-bed COVID hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar, officials said on Wednesday.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, while chairing a high-level meeting, reviewed the proposal to set up the hospitals, they added.
Mr. Bhalla asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately identify suitable locations for constructing the hospitals. He also asked the DRDO to evaluate and submit the corresponding proposal estimates through a team of experts.
The meeting was informed that the administration has identified two patches of land in Jammu and Srinagar for the purpose.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, Financial Commissioner, Health Atal Dulloo, the Union secretaries of the departments concerned and officers from the DRDO, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the AFMS Institute participated in the meeting.
The chief secretary informed the meeting that the Union Territory has witnessed a consistent surge in the number of COVID-19 patients over the last few days.
The existing healthcare facilities are adequately catering to the needs of the patients, he said, adding that however, a continuation of this upward trend may lead to a shortage of COVID beds. To successfully mitigate the shortages in medical facilities, it was requested that the temporary DRDO COVID hospitals be constructed well in time, an official spokesperson said.
He further requested that the upcoming hospitals must be equipped with isolation beds having oxygen support and 125 fully-equipped ICU beds.
In the past, the DRDO built 1,000-bed temporary COVID hospitals across the country in approximately 12 days each.
