DRDO to set up 1,000 bed Covid hospital in Lucknow

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Apr 18, 2021

Amid spiking Covid-19 cases in the second wave of the pandemic, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will set up a 1,000 bed dedicated Covid hospital in Lucknow.

The new makeshift facility will be set up at the venue of the Defence Expo 2020, which is on the outskirts of the state capital.

Recently, union defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is a Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow, had sought land from the Uttar Pradesh government to facilitate the setting up of Covid hospitals given the rising number of cases in the state capital.

The DRDO will incur all the expenses on setting up the 1,000 bed hospital related to the staff, infra, supplies, equipment such as oxygen, ventilators etc.

Even as UP accounts for the second largest number of Covid cases in India after top ranked Maharashtra, Lucknow tops the chart in the state.

Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ballia and Bareilly are also among the most affected districts in UP.

While the opposition has been questioning the Yogi Adityanath government over alleged poor Covid management, UP law minister Brijesh Pathak had recently written a letter pointing towards grossly inadequate Covid and non-Covid medical facilities in the state capital.