E-Paper
Maha govt erred in screening Nanded pilgrims: Punjab health minister
Balbir Singh Sidhu told the media that Maharashtra is a Covid-19 hotspot and yet it neglected the testing of Hazur Sahib pilgrims, most of which turned out positive after their return to Punjab
Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Monday said the Maharashtra government had erred in conducting proper screening and tests of the pilgrims who were stranded in Nanded, leading to the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Punjab.
He informed that he had also spoken to his counterpart in Maharashtra government, Rajesh Tope, and expressed his displeasure over the development.
Sidhu was in the city to chair a meeting with senior district administration officials, including MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, MLAs Rakesh Pandey, Amrik Singh Dhillon, Surinder Dawar, Kuldeep Singh Vaid, Sanjay Talwar, deputy commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, police commissioner Rakesh Kumar Agrawal, civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Kumar Bagga, among others.
During the meeting, Sidhu sought suggestions over the ongoing efforts being made to check the spread of coronavirus disease.
Sidhu told the media that Maharashtra is a Covid-19 hotspot and yet it neglected the testing of Hazur Sahib pilgrims, most of which turned out positive after their return to Punjab.
Taking a jibe at the Union government, the health minister claimed that the former was not providing any support to the Punjab government. He said that till date, the Centre had allocated only ₹71 crore to the state for fighting the disease, which was quite less.
‘WOULD INCREASE TESTING CAPACITY TO 6,000 A DAY
The state health minister further said that they are working to increase the capacity of the existing government labs and assured that soon, the testing capacity in the state would be increased to 6,000 a day. He also said that testing at Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) would start soon and the government is also tying up with private labs such as Dr Lal Path Labs, Tuli Labs Amritsar and other such companies.
‘CENTRE NO PROVIDING US SUPPORT’
The state health minister also hit out at the Union government, stating that Punjab was not getting any support from the Centre.He said that till date, the Union government has allocated only Rs 71 crore to Punjab to fight the virus which is very less. “The Union government has even failed to allocate pending GST arrears of Rs 4400 crore to Punjab,” he added.
