Principal Secretary for Industries and Commerce and district-in-charge secretary for Dharwad Gaurav Gupta has asked officials of the district administration to expedite the survey and assessment of rain damage and submit a report to the government at the earliest.
Chairing a review meeting on floods, the rain situation and COVID-19 management in Dharwad on Friday, Mr. Gupta said that as the district had received more than average rainfall in August, there had been widespread damage to crops and public and private properties, which should be assessed at the earliest. Emphasising the need for expediting the survey to assess the loss caused by excess rains, he asked officials to visit the affected villages and towns and send a factual report instead of sitting in their office and finalising the report.
On COVID-19 management, Mr. Gupta stressed the need for ensuring timely treatment for those testing positive as well as patients with other ailments. He also asked the authorities to ensure that doctors did not skip their duties during the pandemic.
Clarifying that already, a preliminary report had been submitted to the government on rain damage, Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil said that a joint survey had been launched to assess the damage. The final report will be submitted after a ground survey, he said. On COVID-19 management, he said the district administration, with the assistance of private hospitals, was fighting the pandemic and also ensuring treatment for non-COVID-19 patients.
KIMS visit
Subsequently, Mr. Gupta visited the designated COVID-19 hospital in Hubballi — the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) — and sought details on the patients, treatment facilities, and the functioning of the virology lab conducting RT-PCR tests.
Mr. Patil told the secretary that 630 beds at KIMS had oxygen support while an ICU with 100 ventilators had been set up at the hospital. As patients from neighbouring districts were getting admitted to KIMS and private hospitals in Hubballi, the information on them was being sent to the respective district administrations, he said.
KIMS director Ramalingappa Antaratani said that at present, 333 patients were getting treated at KIMS, and of them 115 had SARI symptoms. Among these patients, 185 were being treated in the ICU, he said.
Mr. Gupta also visited the centralised oxygen supply unit set up on the KIMS premises. Municipal Commissioner Suresh Itnal, Assistant Commissioner Mohammed Zuber, KIMS administrative officer Rajashree Jainapur and others were present.