KOPPAL: Across the state, various citizens’ outfits and religious organisations have done their bit to supplement the efforts of the government in the fight against the pandemic by setting up Covid Care Centres (CCCs).
In Koppal, industrialists have decided to walk the extra yard to help rid the state of the menace, and not just by arranging for vaccination for those on their payroll, and their families – they have decided to set up a CCC in Koppal.
Notwithstanding the losses that they have incurred owing to the pandemic, heads of the various companies registered with the Koppal Industries’ Association have set up a 200-bed CCC, aimed primarily at catering to poor Covid-19 patients from rural areas, many of whom do not have the amenities to effectively isolate themselves at home.
Koppal deputy commissioner Vikas Kishor Suralkar told TOI that officials of the district administration had met with representatives of the industries in May, and intimated to them the need for a well-equipped CCC to ease the burden on the government’s healthcare infrastructure.
“Soon after this meeting, Koppal district in-charge minister BC Patil too highlighted the need for such a CCC funded by the corporate sector.
The industrialists swung into action in less than two weeks after the meeting, and work commenced on a CCC at Hosa Kanakapura village on Wednesday.
The 200-bed CCC is expected to be fully operational in three or four weeks.
It is a temporary setup, albeit one strong enough to endure for two years,” the DC said.
Koppal Industries’ Association joint secretary P Narayan said that Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd, Mukand Sumi Special Steel Ltd, MSPL, Xindia Steels, Ultratech Cement, Abhay Solvents, MS Metals and ILC were among the companies that had offered financial and technical aid to set up the CCC, which is being developed at the cost of Rs 4 crore.
“Different industries joining hands to set up a CCC is, to our knowledge, the first-of-a-kind initiative in our country, and we hope it serves as a model for the entire sector,” Narayan told TOI.
The CCC is being set up on a two-acre plot owned by Mukand Sumi Special Steel Ltd, he added.
Narayan said, “It will have 25 beds for patients from the green zone, 120 for those in the yellow zone and 25 beds for red zone patients.
We will source oxygen from Hospet Steels, which is only 500m away.”