BENGALURU: A memorial will be built in Arogya Soudha to honour ‘martyred’ doctors who lost their lives to Covid-19, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar has said. On the occasion of National Doctor’s Day on Thursday, the minister said that more than 700 doctors have died on Covid-19 duty across the country.
“The State Government has decided to build a memorial in Arogya Soudha to honour their sacrifice. A model will be designed soon and will be inaugurated by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. Families of the martyred families can come and pay respect at the memorial on a fixed day,” he said.
“Doctors try to save the lives of patients till their last breath. People should not take the law into their own hands. Strict legal action will be initiated against the defaulters. It is a punishable offence up to 5-7 years of imprisonment,” warned Dr Sudhakar.
Speaking at a function organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr Sudhakar said that all doctors should register themselves with the IMA. The government is also considering to pay more stipend to those working in rural areas, he said.
He also said 250 primary health centres will be upgraded this year. Speaking on vaccine shortage, Sudhakar questioned, “How is it possible to vaccinate 2.25 crore people if we have shortage of vaccines? Congress should stop politicising this. Speak with statistics. The Centre has provided 9 lakh doses of Covishield today.”