ITBP takes over country's largest COVID-19 care centre in Delhi

NEW DELHI:  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police on Wednesday took charge of a 10,000 bed capacity Covid-19 care centre in the national capital. A team of officials from the border guarding force visited the Radha Soami Beas facility in Chhatarpur and held discussions with the Delhi government and other stakeholders who will be partners in running the centre that is set to become operational from June 26.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on Tuesday said the centre has been entrusted to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). "The home ministry had nominated ITBP as the nodal agency to provide doctors and team of professionals to this center as requested by the Delhi government," ITBP said, in a statement. 

The border guarding force further said that a 2,000 bed facility at the centre is expected to become operational from June 26. An ITBP official said that the total bed capacity may go upto 10,200 at the centre, which will be the largest Covid-19 care centre not just in the national capital but in the  entire country.

The official added that over 1,000 doctors of the ITBP and other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and 2,000 paramedics and security staff are expected to be deployed at this facility. ITBP said that the south Delhi district administration will provide administrative support to the centre.

It was the ITBP which set up country’s first quarantine centre for coronavirus affected people with 1,000 bed capacity.  The centre in Chhawla area of south-west Delhi has treated about 1,200 people, including 42 foreigners who were brought to India on special evacuation flights from Wuhan in China and Italy, after the COVID-19 outbreak few months back.

The facility is still operational and is taking care of those ITBP troops who are joining back to work after the countrywide lockdown. It also created the first standard operating procedures for management of the pandemic among the various CAPFs and central and state police organisations.