Rourkela: Throwing its weight behind India’s fight against Covid-19, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has set up a jumbo Covid-19 care centre – Ispat Nidan Kendra – here to treat corona patients. This state-of-the-art facility is equipped with 100 oxygenated beds including 50 ventilator attached beds. The work is in progress to increase the oxygenated bed strength to 500 including 100 ventilator-attached beds in near future.  

Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently inaugurated Ispat Nidan Kendra, which has been developed by the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). Faggan Singh Kulaste, Union Minister of State for Steel, Naba Kishore Das, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Odisha, Jual Oram, MP, Sundargarh, MLAs, P K Tripathy, Secretary, Steel, Government of India, Soma Mondal, Chairman, SAIL and other senior officers from Ministry of Steel and SAIL were present during the inauguration.

Describing the inaugural function as a momentous occasion for not only Rourkela but also for the entire region, Pradhan said that SAIL RSP has once again rose to the occasion and proved its capability by taking up host of initiatives to fight Covid-19 pandemic. He said that this massive facility will help in containing the second wave of the Covid pandemic in the region and will also strengthen healthcare response. The permanent facility will also be used for non-Covid treatment post the pandemic, he added.

All the beds in this Ispat Nidan Kendra have the provision of gaseous oxygen directly through a dedicated line drawn directly from the oxygen unit of the steel plant. The provision of gaseous oxygen will help in getting rid of the need to replenish cylinders and the logistic issues, besides ensuring uninterrupted availability of the life saving gas.

This jumbo facility, which has been set up within a record time, is in addition to the beds and ICU beds already made available earlier for the fight against Covid-19. The Ispat Nidan Kendra is being set up as a permanent type installation with a facility of oxygen availability for 500 beds, that will go a long way in the treatment of numerous patients in the region. It is worth mentioning that SAIL is India's premier public sector steel company. /BI/