Rajnath asks governors to rope in retired servicemen to fight Covid-19

The defence minister conducted a meeting asking governors to take the states into confidence as he held a meeting with them to review the Covid-19 situation.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asked the governors to work with chief ministers of states and Union Territories to devise a plan to rope in ex-servicemen and paramedic staff, nurses and doctors who have retired from the armed forces to fight the pandemic.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh reviewing preparedness of Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces at a virtual meet in this file picture from last week. (ANI Photo)

The defence minister conducted a meeting asking governors to take the government of states into confidence as he held a meeting with them to review the Covid-19 situation. Singh also spoke to lieutenant governors of union territories and took stock of the coronavirus situation.

All the three services of the armed forces as well as other wings of the defence ministry have extended their support to state governments and Union Territories to deal with the massive surge in the number of cases. The Indian Air Force airlifted empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country in order to speed up the distribution of much-needed medical oxygen in adversely affected states. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said that the armed forces and the defence ministry is working on a war-footing to fight the second wave and will provide all possible assistance in dealing with the pandemic.

Indian Air Force C-17 transport plane took two empty tankers from Indore in Madhya Pradesh to Jamnagar in Gujarat for filing amid a rise in the number of cases as demand for oxygen arose across states worst-hit by Covid-19. The IAF reduced the journey of 20 hours to 1 hour. Several states of India are facing acute shortage of beds, medical oxygen and other medical supplies due to the rising number of cases.