Covid care centre at Kandwari on the cards

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, January 1

The Radha Soami Satsang management has asked the Kangra district administration to vacate its premises where the biggest Covid care makeshift hospital was set up in May last year when the second wave was at its peak. Now, the government is planning to relocate the hospital to Kandwari

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had inaugurated the 300-bed Covid care hospital set up on the Radha Soami complex at Paror, 10 km from here. All beds were connected with the piped oxygen supply system. It was constructed in a record time of one month under the supervision of the Kangra Deputy Commissioner.

Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that the government has spent over Rs 2 crore on the hospital and deputed a team of 16 doctors there.

However, after receiving notice, the district administration has no choice but to dismantle the structure. Most equipment have already been removed from the centre and are being dumped in the Civil Hospital, Palampur. The government is likely to suffer a loss of over Rs 1 crore in dismantling of the structure.

The district administration has now planned to install makeshift OPD cabins, labs, etc on the premises of Zonal Leprosy Hospital, Kandwari, near Palampur. SDM Amit Guleria said that he had visited Kandwari for the creation of a new Covid vare hospital since the Radha Ssami Satsang management had expressed its inability to run the centre. It had been planned to use the land for the makeshift Covid care centre. There was no proposal to dislocate leprosy patients.

Kangra district was the worst hit by Covid-19. There were over 35,000 active cases during the second wave, while the mortality rate in the district was also the highest in the state.