Rs 300 crore for medical equipment to combat coronavirus in Punjab, says FM Manpreet Badal

Ashok Kaura

Our Correspondent 

Nakodar, April 18

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Saturday said the Punjab government was spending Rs 300 crore for purchase of medical equipment in the state to combat COVID-19.  

Addressing a gathering during the dedication of COVID-19 virus tertiary care centre, here,  at Billa Chuharmi near Nakodar, the Minister was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh, and MLAs Pargat Singh and Hardev Singh Laddi.

He said the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had no dearth of funds to combat the pandemic.

He said medical equipment worth Rs 100 crore each were being purchased during the months of April, May and June.  

Badal assured the people of the state that every effort would be made to provide succour to people in this hour of crisis. 

The minister said the pandemic which had spread in 200 countries across the globe has given a major setback to the economy. He said the state government had already set up a panel under renowned economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia to suggest ways and means for steering the state’s economy out of fiscal stress. 

Badal said that no stone would be left unturned to secure the interests of Punjabis in this hour of crisis.

Describing the entire medical fraternity, including doctors and paramedical staff, as messiahs, the Minister said their immense contribution in combatting the coronavirus effectively in India would be gloriously remembered in history. 

He said the medical fraternity had been doing a wonderful job during the fight against coronavirus.  Badal urged the people to support the battle against corona by confining themselves to their homes during the lockdown and curfew. 

The Minister dedicated Sant Waryam Singh Dahiya (SWSD) Hospital, named after renowned freedom fighter, near Nakodar on the Jalandhar-Moga highway to people. 

The hospital equipped with ultra-modern facilities like operation theatre, X-Ray room and others would have 20-bed isolation facilities with ventilators and other Intensive Care Unit facilities. 

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