Sunday, 23 April 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Minister reviews medical arrangements on pilgrimage circuit
The State’s Medical Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the State government has deployed 200 ambulances on the Char Dham Yatra routes. These ambulances contain oxygen cylinders and other life saving facilities. He further said that the response time of the 108 emergency service on the Yatra routes has been decreased to 15 minutes. The minister said this while chairing a meeting to review arrangements made by the Health department in view of the Char Dham Yatra which began on Saturday with the reopening of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples.
Rawat returned from campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections on Saturday and chaired the meeting to review Char Dham Yatra arrangements with senior officials. He directed the departmental officials to ensure that the best possible health services are provided to the people arriving in Uttarakhand for the Char Dham Yatra. He said that special focus should be laid on ensuring availability of life saving equipment and facilities at medical response points (MRPs) made for those going to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib-Lokpal. He also stressed on laying special focus on ensuring adequate medicines and deploying the required number of doctors and paramedical staff at the temporary and permanent medical units on the routes to Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath. He said that the government medical college hospital in Srinagar has been made the base camp for the pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath and Hemkund. Along with a cardiac unit, specialist doctors will remain posted in this hospital. Similarly, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh has been made the base camp for those going to Gangotri and Yamunotri so that any person in need of medical attention in an emergency can get it within a definite time period. The minister said that the Covid-19 situation in the State is under control but still it is important to maintain vigilance. He directed the officials to conduct Covid testing and vaccination campaigns across the State while also raising public awareness on the infection.
Health additional secretary Amardeep Kaur, Health director general Dr Vinita Shah, Medical Education director Dr Ashutosh Sayana and other officials were also present in the meeting.
