Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike commissioner Manjunath Prasad, said that the biggest ever Covid care centre in the country will begin functioning from Monday July 27 onward. The centre is being created for asymptomatic people infected with coronavirus. It is located at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre ground at Madavara in Bengaluru north taluk.

Prasad, accompanied by other officials, visited the centre on Friday July 24. He said that halls which can accommodate 5,000 beds have already been set up. He said that there was confusion between the government and contractors about taking the beds on rent or purchase basis. He said that one set comprising 28 items is being hired at the rate of Rs 800 per day.

"We would have ended up paying rent of Rs 12 crore for 5,000 beds on monthly basis. Now, seven items including the reusable cot, bed, bed sheet, rug and pillow will be acquired for Rs 2.4 crore. For the remaining items, rent of Rs 3.75 crore would be paid," he explained.

He said that in the past, Rs 7,500 had been fixed for acquiring items, but the BBMP officials who checked the same reduced it to Rs 4,800. 'We will spend Rs 240 per person per day for food, which would be entrusted to ISKCON, Indira Canteen and other agencies. For every 100 patients, a doctor, two nurses, an assistant, a cleanliness staff and two marshals would be provided. A total of 2,200 staff will be employed here, he added.