Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, April 17: In response to the demand from the Health authorities in the Union Territory government and calls received from parents of young medicos and Resident Doctors performing Covid related duties, fresh consignments of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits of high quality standard have been arranged for Jammu & Kashmir and about 2,500 such kits of standard quality are expected to reach by tonight itself and another 5,000 PPE kits will be dispatched from Delhi tomorrow to be available in next two to three days, following which an arrangement will be in place to have a regular supply of PPE kits on day to day basis as per the requirement. At the same time, within a day or two, other sources and agencies are also being verified for authenticity and reliability of the equipment for the purpose of immediate and instant purchase, if required.
Disclosing this in an elaborate exclusive interview with Doordarshan, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said, the COVID challenge had brought out to surface the immense capacity of India’s health infrastructure to deal with any new epidemic at a short notice and to re-orient our management skills instantly.
As far as the supply of essential medical equipment is concerned, Dr Jitendra Singh said, extra care has been taken right from the beginning to ensure that there is no shortage in the peripheral regions like Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and North Eastern States. In this context, it may be mentioned that 5 Lakh Rapid Testing Kits are available with Government of India today and the first consignment of its share will also be send to Jammu & Kashmir tomorrow and so also the RNA extraction kits will be made available in Jammu & Kashmir as like in other Union Territories and States of India.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, out of 400 to 450 tons of Air Cargo supplies carried to different parts of India till now, a large share of it has gone to Ladakh, North East and parts of Jammu & Kashmir. He said, while Ladakh was among the first to receive Air Cargo Flight since the road connectivity through Zojila Pass was not available, in Jammu & Kashmir the Air Cargo flight carrying medical equipment landed in Srinagar because it was in Kashmir valley where the Coronavirus positive cases were reported initially and in relatively large numbers and at the same time the National Highway connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country was also blocked for some time, while Jammu had not only received Air Cargo supplies but was also receiving regular supplies through road transport and till today nearly 15,000 truck loads have crossed the Lakhanpur entry point from Punjab side carrying essential supplies and other material by road to Jammu. In addition, Jammu was also receiving supplies through special Parcel Express train, he said.
In Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the farming activity when it starts, will have a bipolar scenario in the sense that while in the plains, it will be harvesting activity, in the hills it will be sowing of new crop. Arrangements are being planned accordingly, he added.12
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