Tourism Minister M. Srinivasa Rao said that the district administration with the help of the all government departments have been putting a strong fight against the COVID-19. He said that as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, the State government is following testing, tracing and treating to tackle the virus. In this regard, testing capacity has reached close to 5,000 per day in the district and till date 2.14 lakh tests have been conducted, he said.
The Minister was delivering his speech after unfurling the national flag on the occasion of the 74th Independence Day at the police barracks here on Saturday. He also received the Guard of Honour along with District Collector V. Vinay Chand and Commissioner of Police R.K. Meena. However police parade was not organised due to wet outfield.
Recalling the services of the freedom fighters, the Minister paid tributes to them. He also saluted the frontline warriors, including doctors, policemen and medical staff, who have been putting a fight during the tough time.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that ever since the virus broke out, the district administration has started to put efforts to contain the spread. At present, 2,558 people are being treated at 12 COVID-19 Care Centres and 3,040 people are treated at 22 hospitals, he said. In order to give better treatment to patients and keeping in the view of increasing number of cases in the future, the government has given its nod to recruit 3,784 posts in various categories, including specialist doctors, in a special drive, he said.
The Minister also said that the State government has been giving welfare schemes, development, employment generation and providing amenities as major priorities. He also listed out various welfare schemes which were introduced through ‘Navaratnalu’ and how people from the district benefited through them.
“About 3.48 lakh farmers from the district have received a financial aid of ₹194.42 crore as part of first phase of ‘Rythu Bharosa.’ As many as 43,070 people have been benefited through Aarogyasri in which the government has spent ₹102.63 crore,”, he said.
As part of “Amma Vodi” scheme, the State government has deposited ₹587.73 crore in the bank accounts of 3.92 lakh women, whose children are studying in government schools in the district.
The Minister also said that as part of development works in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporatation (GVMC), as many as 832 works worth ₹125.91 crore has been taken up. Out of them, 379 have already been finished.
A number of projects are being taken up by the Visakhapatnam Metro Region Development Authority (VMRDA) which include Rs 150 crore worth NAD flyover, ₹56.55 crore worth Kailasagiri renovation project, ₹37 crore worth planetarium project and a few others.
On the occasion, tableaux of various government departments highlighted the government schemes being implemented in the State. Medical & Health Department’s tableau has won the first prize, while Rural Development and Agriculture Department has won the second and third prizes respectively.
Police Commissioner, R.K. Meena, Superintendent of Police B. Krishna Rao, District Medical & Health Officer (DMHO) S. Tirupathi Rao, Chief Medical & Officer of Health (CMOH) GVMC , K.S.L.G. Sastry, Director of VIMS, K Satya Varaprasad, KGH in-charge Superintendent, P.V. Sudhakar, GVMC Commissioner G Srijana and a few others received mementoes for their efforts during COVID-19 crisis. The Collector has also given awards to a number of staff from police, health, sanitary who have been fighting COVID-19 in the district. Two elderly persons who recovered from COVID-19 have been felicitated.