NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday paid a surprise visit to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and asked the administration to prevent mortality of COVID-19 patients at any cost. He was visiting the administrative building in the twin-city after 18 years.
The senior politician visited the War Room and took information from PCMC Commissioner Shravan Hardikar about the measures being taken to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
According to Pune Mirror, Pawar asked Hardikar about the number of ICU beds in the city. The Commissioner said that there were around a hundred of those, to which the NCP chief questioned, "Then why are beds not available for patients?" "Tell me if you need any help from the state government," he added.
Speaking about the death of journalist, Pandurang Raykar, Pawar said, "The death of a journalist in Pune is unfortunate. No one should die like this. Raykar had passed away on Wednesday after he did not get a cardiac ambulance from Pune's Jumbo COVID Centre to a hospital barely 7 km away. Pawar also advised the administration to take precautions so that no one dies for want of an ambulance.
Meanwhile, PCMC reported 1,005 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the total to 53,289. The death toll in the twin-city jumped to 911 after 20 patients succumbed to the virus.
