A 500-bed Covid-19 hospital built by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was on Saturday inaugurated here by the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha.

The DRDO has built the hospital within days in the Bhagwati Nagar locality of the city and another such facility is coming up in Srinagar.
The newly built hospital in Jammu has 125 ICU beds and fully air-conditioned Covid facility.

The hospital is equipped with 24 hours oxygen facility that would significantly ramp up the healthcare infra to deal with Covid19 pandemic.

Speaking on the occassion, Sinha said we all as society must fight the pandemic together and recalibrate our priorities, giving utmost importance to Covid protocol and vaccination.

He urged every citizen of J&K to follow Covid Appropriate Behaviour to effectively tackle this health crisis. Our robust health infrastructure with decentralized community healthcare system in the form of Panchayat Covid Care Centres has an extensive outreach even in far flung areas.

Effective and rapid response system has been devised to quickly mobilize the physical and human resources within healthcare delivery apparatus, he added.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Council (AC) that met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, on Saturday approved the grant of financial relief through the Special Assistance Scheme for COVID Moralities (SASCM/Saksham) to the families of COVID victims.

The scheme aims to ensure sustenance of families who have lost their sole breadwinner.

Under the new scheme Saksham, the surviving spouse, and one eldest surviving member of affected families will receive a special monthly pension of Rs. 1000 through direct bank transfer (DBT), provided that they are not otherwise receiving any pension under other schemes.

Additionally, the scheme will also provide special scholarships to children who lost their earning parents to COVID. The special scholarship will be paid annually at the rate of Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 40,000 through DBT to children studying up to 12th standard, and higher education, respectively.

The Administrative Council also approved the creation of a special cell in the Social Welfare Department for hand-holding the families of COVID victims and facilitating the extension of benefits under different Government schemes including financial assistance for self-employment.