COVID-19: Ferrying oxygen not the only service defence forces are rendering

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From rescuing a boy in a well to organising flood relief, from rescuing men trapped in a landslide to providing oxygen to gasping COVID-19 patients, the Indian Army has always been at the service of the nation.

If ferrying dozens of cryogenic oxygen containers around the country and fetching them from abroad has catapulted IAF to the headlines, the forces are working at other levels too to provide relief to the patients.

147 IAF sorties

According to a statement by the Ministry of Defence, IAF has carried out 23 sorties from abroad fetching 39 oxygen containers with a cumulative capacity of 630 tonnes. Inside the country, it carried out 124 sorties carrying 87 containers with a total capacity of 1,798 tonnes of oxygen.

On April 25, the ministry of defence said that defence public sector undertakings and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) units are offering assistance to the civil administration and state governments in the fight against COVID-19.

A 180-bed COVID care centre with ICU, oxygen and ventilator support was set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru apart from a 250-bed facility in the same city that has been handed over to the municipality.

HAL is also setting up another 250-bed hospital in Lucknow that has been hit hard by the infection. The target is to commission it by the first week of May.

Two other hospitals – a 70-bed in Koraput and a 40-bed one in Nashik – are also treating COVID patients. HAL is also planning to provide more ventilators in Bengaluru and Lucknow.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Army chief general MM Naravane to review the preparedness of the forces to help the administration in the fight against pandemic. That the Army is setting up temporary hospitals in different parts of the country was conveyed to the PM in that meeting.

A few days before Naravane met Modi, chief of defence staff general Bipin Rawat met the PM and informed him of the plans of the Army, navy and Air Force to tackle the raging second wave. Rawat also told Modi that the medics who retired two years ago are being brought back into service to lend a helping hand.

OFB network

OFB is providing COVID care services, including oxygen beds, at their facilities in 25 places in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha and Uttarakhand and has deployed nearly 60% per cent of its manpower this purpose.

As many as 813 beds out of total strength of 1,405 are now reserved for COVID patients. These facilities are in Pune, Ambernath, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chanda, Varangaon and Bhusawal in Maharashtra and at Ishapore and Kolkata in West Bengal.

The Navy has also lent its helping hand by carrying oxygen and other medical equipment for the treatment of patients in Lakhshadweep and Minicoy islands.