Stern steps needed against private hospitals: BBMP chief

BENGALURU: While a stern watch is being kept on large hospitals, nodal officials should be appointed to smaller hospitals in each zone, said BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Tuesday.Nodal officials already keep an eye on hospitals with over 100 beds, but it is not the case with smaller ones. Nodal officials should also check smaller facilities and ensure 50 per cent of beds are reserved, he added.

Gupta, along with Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other officials, held a virtual meeting with management of private hospitals.Gupta said that earlier, only a few hospitals were allotted to IAS and IPS officers, but now, all hospitals will be under the purview of these officers.Bommai said that at present, stepdown hospitals have 960 beds, which should be increased to at least 5,000 in two days.

Ashok said that within a day, all beds that were supposed to be given to the government should be handed over. He directed officials to seize beds if 50 per cent of them are not reserved and to take legal action. He set a target to increase bed capacity to 50,000 in two days.Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, N Manjunatha Prasad said that nine teams, led by IAS and IPS officers, have been deployed for bed allocation.Earlier, Covid in-charge minister V Somanna, along with Bommai, Ashoka and MLA Byrathi Suresh, inspected CCCs in Hebbal, CV Raman Nagar and Rajiv Gandhi Dental College.

Vaccinate all forest staff, kin
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Sanjay Mohan has written to Forest Minister Aravind Limbavali, urging him to create facilities to vaccinate all forest staff and their family members at taluk offices. The letter stated that Madhu Sharma, information and publicity officer, has been appointed as nodal officer for this task.