Chhattisgarh CM writes to Centre, seeks ₹736.74 crore for running Covid-19 facilities

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has written a letter to Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan demanding the remaining amount of ₹736.74 crore for operating Covid-19 dedicated hospitals and Covid Centres in the state and immediate supply of resources required for curbing and prevention of coronavirus.

In the letter, the CM also urged the health minister to increase ICU beds in AIIMS Raipur since Covid-19 patients were continuously increasing.

The CM further stated that the state government is taking the initiative to prevent the spread of coronavirus Chhattisgarh -- 29 dedicated hospitals and 221 Covid Care Centres have been established in the state. At present, the state government has set up 29,111 hospital beds, including 406 ICU and 370 HDU beds for the treatment of patients in these facilities.

The Health and Family Welfare Department of Chhattisgarh had written a reference letter, demanding ₹821.93 crore for operating Covid-19 Hospitals and Covid Care Centers, out of which only ₹85.19 crore has been received till date.

The chief minister urged the Union minister to provide the remaining amount of ₹736.74 crore as soon as possible so that all the necessary resources can be arranged in time.

Baghel informed that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur is playing an important and commendable role in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. He said that in the present scenario, when the number of critical patients is increasing, there is an urgent need to increase the number of available ICU beds from 54 to 200 beds in AIIMS Raipur.

Baghel said that in the past also various materials were demanded by the state against which very little quantity was received from the Centre.