Top Stories
Schools open, colleges closed: Telangana HC asks why | Hyderabad News
HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court on Friday sought to know from the state government as to why the authorities were speaking in terms of closing colleges on one hand while reopening schools from January 31 on the other.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili sought a reply from the government by February 3. The bench, while hearing a batch of PILs related to Covid-19, also sought a detailed affidavit from director of public health Dr G Srinivasa Rao on the facilities extended by the government to the people in facing the third wave effectively.
Appearing for one of the petitioners, senior counsel L Ravi Chander said that despite several promises made by the government to the court about developing health infrastructure to cater to the needs of children, not much had been done at the ground level.
Even now, Niloufer Hospital is the sole children’s hospital for the entire state. “Imagine the plight of parents from Adilabad if they were to shift their virus-hit child to Niloufer in Hyderabad urgently,” he said. Dr Srinivasa Rao, who was present before the court virtually, however, made an attempt to allay such fears. “There are scores of hospitals all over the state. We have set up more than 6,000 oxygen beds in various government hospitals, including Niloufer.
A significant portion of them are ICU beds. Instances of children getting hospitalised are very low. Even in Niloufer, there are not many admissions. During the second wave also, children admissions had not crossed 5 per cent of the admissions,” he said.
Counsel Kowturu Pavan Kumar said that the state government should prepare separate kits for children. Many people were now becoming complacent with a false notion that Covid-19 had turned into a normal flu and were ignoring even isolation norms. “The government should send across timely messages to the people from time to time,” he said.
Another counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar expressed apprehensions about the likelihood of the virus spreading like a wildfire during the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara in February where one crore people are likely to congregate on the banks of Godavari river. He recalled how Kumbh Mela devotees ended up as flo- ating corpses on the Ganga in the second wave and urged the court to direct the government to ensure that such an unfortunate situation would not arise here.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili sought a reply from the government by February 3. The bench, while hearing a batch of PILs related to Covid-19, also sought a detailed affidavit from director of public health Dr G Srinivasa Rao on the facilities extended by the government to the people in facing the third wave effectively.
Appearing for one of the petitioners, senior counsel L Ravi Chander said that despite several promises made by the government to the court about developing health infrastructure to cater to the needs of children, not much had been done at the ground level.
Even now, Niloufer Hospital is the sole children’s hospital for the entire state. “Imagine the plight of parents from Adilabad if they were to shift their virus-hit child to Niloufer in Hyderabad urgently,” he said. Dr Srinivasa Rao, who was present before the court virtually, however, made an attempt to allay such fears. “There are scores of hospitals all over the state. We have set up more than 6,000 oxygen beds in various government hospitals, including Niloufer.
A significant portion of them are ICU beds. Instances of children getting hospitalised are very low. Even in Niloufer, there are not many admissions. During the second wave also, children admissions had not crossed 5 per cent of the admissions,” he said.
Counsel Kowturu Pavan Kumar said that the state government should prepare separate kits for children. Many people were now becoming complacent with a false notion that Covid-19 had turned into a normal flu and were ignoring even isolation norms. “The government should send across timely messages to the people from time to time,” he said.
Another counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar expressed apprehensions about the likelihood of the virus spreading like a wildfire during the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara in February where one crore people are likely to congregate on the banks of Godavari river. He recalled how Kumbh Mela devotees ended up as flo- ating corpses on the Ganga in the second wave and urged the court to direct the government to ensure that such an unfortunate situation would not arise here.
Source link
