Patients protest lack of facilities, substandard food at Uttarakhand Covid care centre
Protesting patients said none of the officials had visited the centre to listen to their grievances
Covid-19 positive patients were housed at a COVID care centre in US Nagar’s Pantnagar staged a protest against the lack of the facilities and accused authorities of providing them substandard food.
The district magistrate (DM) US Nagar has set up an inquiry into the matter and sent senior officers to the centre, an official said.
“I have sent sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and chief medical officer (CMO) to talk to the protesting COVID-19 patients. Action will be taken against the accused if allegations are found genuine,” said Ranjana Rajguru, DM, US Nagar.
Visvesarayya Bhawan, a hostel building of Pantnagar University has been converted into a COVID care centre in Pantnagar. Around 160 men, women and children from Khatima, Transit Camp (Rudrapur) and other places have been housed there for treatment.
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These COVID-19 positive persons came out of the hostel building with utensils on Tuesday morning and staged a protest on the porch, an official said.
They alleged a lack of facilities and substandard food being served to them. They also alleged toilets in the centre were in a very unhygienic condition. Some of them claimed that they were asymptomatic and such they should be sent to their respective homes as per the new guidelines for home isolation of asymptomatic patients.
The protesters also alleged that neither health officials nor any officer had come to listen to their grievances. Police personnel rushed the spot and tried to calm them and assured them of better facilities. Protester ended their protest after an hour on the assurance of police personnel, said official.
