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Corona crisis: Haryana govt to use state roadways buses for mobile clinics
Gurugram:
Gurugram:
Amid the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Haryana government has decided to convert state roadways buses into mobile clinics to ensure sufficient availability of basic medical facilities across the state.
The state chief secretary, Keshni Anand Arora, on Saturday held a meeting of the Crisis Coordination Committee featuring deputy commissioners of 22 districts and instructed them to start mobile clinic services, officials said.
The Haryana Roadways has been instructed to make vehicles available for the purpose, and to refurbish buses if need be, after seeking specifications from the district administrations and health departments.
“We have received these instructions by the principal secretary (transport). Our buses are on standby. We are awaiting words from the deputy commissioner or chief medical officer, if the buses need to be refurbished,” said Anu Sheokhand, Haryana Roadways’ general manager in Gurugram.
It is presently unclear how many buses will be converted into mobile clinics in Haryana. In a text message to HT on Sunday, Gurugram deputy commissioner Amit Khatri said, “Yes, we will be starting the mobile clinic service soon using Gurugaman buses. We will also engage Haryana Roadways buses as per need.”
However, Khatri did not provide any further details.
JS Punia, chief medical officer, did not respond to multiple calls and messages seeking comment for this story.
In addition to planning for mobile clinics, the Gurugram district administration has ordered six buses (four of the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) and two of Haryana Roadways) to be reserved exclusively for ferrying health teams from Civil Hospital to containment zones and back.
Vanita Akhaury, spokesperson, GMCBL, said, “We have sent four buses on Sunday at the CMO’s request. These buses will be used only for carrying health teams from hospitals to containment zones, where door-to-door surveys and thermal scanning of residents are underway.”
