The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward of the 1,000-bedded Sardar Vallabhai Patel hospital, built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been named after Colonel Santosh Babu, who was recently killed in the clash at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
Santosh Babu hailed from Suryapet district in Telangana, where his last rites were performed last month with full military honours.
On June 22, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao personally met his family and handed over an ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore, besides a plot of land to the family of the late Colonel, who was the Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment.
The ICU ward was named after Colonel Santosh Babu as it was part of a move to name different wards of the hospital after Army personnel who lost their lives in the recent clashes.
It’s a great move by @DRDO_India to name the different wards of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel #COVID19 Hospital after @adgpi troops who lost their lives in recent Galwan valley clashes.
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 5, 2020
The facility has 250 ICU beds,is fully AC & is operated by Armed Forces Medical Services@PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/2Ms1cdZVGo
Meanwhile, the hospital in Delhi was built by the DRDO to treat COVID-19 patients referred by authorities. The temporary air-conditioned facility will meet the need for more beds to house the increasing number of coronavirus patients. Till Sunday, Delhi had recorded 97,200 cases of COVID-19.
Situated near Domestic Terminal-1 on Ulan Bator Road adjacent to the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) headquarters, the hospital, which has 250 intensive care unit beds, has been set up in a record 12 days.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday visited the hospital and reviewed the preparedness.
In a tweet, Rajnath Singh said he visited the hospital in New Delhi on Sunday along with Shah, Harsh Vardhan and the Delhi Chief Minister. "This facility has been created by DRDO in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Tata Sons in a record time," Rajnath Singh said.
This 1000 bed COVID hospital with 250 ICU beds is to be operated by the Armed Forces Medical Services. I congratulate all the agencies working tirelessly towards making this Hospital a wonderful example in enhancing our preparedness against the menace of COVID-19.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 5, 2020
Visited the 1,000 bed Sardar Patel Covid Hospital, which has 250 ICU beds, along with @rajnathsingh ji. DRDO built it in record time of 12 days with assistance from MHA, MOHFW, Armed Forces and Tata Trust.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 5, 2020
Armed Forces Medical Services team will run it and DRDO will maintain. pic.twitter.com/WGvZRylWpq
DRDO, which is under the Defence Ministry, said that the hospital will be operated by a team of doctors, nurses and support staff from the Armed Forces Medical Services.
"The hospital is fully equipped with facilities for patients like medical oxygen gas, PPE kits, ventilators, Covid testing facility and other lab tests," the DRDO said in a tweet.
The facility set up on around 25,000 square metres of land belonging to the Indian Air Force has patients and doctors' blocks, a testing lab and a pharmacy whereas a mortuary is being planned.
It is the second such facility to be manned by armed forces personnel after the 10,000-bedded one at Radha Soami Satsang Beas complex in south Delhi's Chattarpur area, which was also inaugurated on Sunday by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
The centre is 1,700 feet long, 700 feet wide -- roughly the size of 20 football fields -- and has 200 enclosures with 50 beds each. The facility is manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Volunteers from the religious sect of Radha Soami Beas will also help run the centre.
With IANS and PTI inputs