Defence organisations engaged in mitigating individuals’s sufferings amid Covid surge: Rajnath Singh

Amid a number of calls for and ideas to herald the armed forces to not simply deal with logistics, however to additionally set-up warlike area hospitals to fight the continuing second wave of the Covid-19 instances throughout the nation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday wrote a weblog publish about his ministry’s response, and that of the armed forces, in “fighting the invisible enemy”, calling it a “once in a century crisis”.
“Sensing the emergency situation, the whole Government machinery immediately swung into action by mobilizing all possible resources. Along with the efforts put together by the scientific community, health professionals, civil administration, the Armed Forces too have pitched in this battle against an invisible yet deadly enemy.”
In his publish, Singh wrote that the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, and different organisations of the Ministry of Defence like DG AFMS, DRDO, OFB, DPSU, NCC, Cantonments Boards, and many others “are engaged to help mitigate the sufferings of the people. Mobilisation of additional health professionals, setting up of new COVID facilities, deployment of IAF transport aircraft and IN Ships to provide logistic support to facilitate the supply of oxygen from friendly foreign countries and within the country and setting up of new oxygen plants are some of the ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Defence”.
He recounted the numerous steps taken in the previous couple of weeks in aiding the hassle. Foremost, he mentioned, “I have directed the Armed Forces to extend all possible assistance to the civil administration to tide over the crisis” as “people have great faith and trust in the capabilities of the Armed Forces”.

Emergency Financial Powers have granted to the armed forces for the formation commanders to arrange medical amenities along with the emergency monetary powers delegated to Director General Medical Services (Army/Navy/Air Force) and different officers.
Also, practically 750 beds in varied Military Hospitals have been put aside for civilian use whereas the AFMS additionally devoted 19 hospitals, over 4,000 beds and 585 ICU models throughout the nation, Singh mentioned.
DRDO, he talked about, has arrange 500-bed amenities in New Delhi and Lucknow, a 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad and transformed ESIC Hospital in Patna to Covid-19 hospital with 500 beds. It is working to determine related hospitals in Muzaffarpur and Varanasi.
Other steps embody granting extension to the Short Service Commissioned Doctors of AFMS until December 31, redeploying lately retired medical officers, 100 beds at Lucknow and Prayagraj offered by the Army, and plenty of extra in different areas, and holding 200 drivers on standby for driving oxygen transporters to varied elements of the nation.
The Air Force has carried out 50 sorties, airlifting 61 oxygen containers of 1,142 MT capability from overseas, and 344 sorties, airlifting 230 containers of 4,527 MT capability domestically until May 5. Navy too, he mentioned, has deployed 9 warships for the aim of transporting oxygen-filled containers and first consignment reached Mangalore on May 5. The Indian Army has repaired two civil oxygen vegetation at Agra to facilitate the resumption of provide of as much as 1,800 cylinders per day.
Also, 23 cellular oxygen producing vegetation are being introduced from Germany and a young for an additional 23 large sized vegetation has additionally been floated.

Singh mentioned that the armed forces and varied institutions of his ministry “are not just providing support to the civil administration/state governments in fighting the current situation but are also playing a pivotal role in conducting the vaccination drive launched by the government across the country”.
“All the efforts and initiatives by the Armed Forces and various organizations of MoD, some of which enumerated above, are being done without compromising the objective of defending the nation from any external threat,” Singh wrote.