BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said the state is the second highest in terms of Covid-19 cases and Bengaluru Urban is the worst-affected district in the country. “Unfortunately, the BBMP Monitoring Committee has made no efforts to monitor Covid hospitals and Covid Care Centres (CCC),” said a division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar when the committe could not place any report related to monitoring facilities in hospitals and CCCs.
“Bengaluru has the most number of Covid hospitals but nothing is on record to show that the committee had visited those hospitals,” the bench noted, while making it clear that its intention is only to ensure better facilities and not to monitor doctors and paramedical staff who are working relentlessly for more than six months now.
The bench was also unhappy with experts committees in districts, which were constituted to visit the hospitals and CCCs to monitor facilities. Very casual exercise have been made by only in respect of visit, the bench added.The bench directed the state government to establish a helpline line for Covid-19 patients for complaints when they do not receive proper treatment and facilities at Covid hospitals and CCCs.
Directing the state government to take steps to ensure adequate supply of oxygen to hospitals in rural areas and remote places, the bench directed it to tell whether any mechanism is created for implementation of the order dated September 25 passed by the Centre in relation to supply of oxygen and regulation of its price. This was after the state government claimed that 236 metric tonne oxygen is required per day for the state but 376 metric tonne is available.
Submit plea to Centre, state on Ayurvedic treatment for Covid: HC
Hearing a public interest litigation, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the petitioners to submit to the state and central governments a representation seeking modification of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) if Covid-19 patients are compelled to take only Alopathic treatment. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi said that if such a representation is submitted, the state and Centre should consider it within a month. The PIL was filed by A Verghese from the city and Dr Priyanka Arora from Uttarakhand.