Pune: A few months back Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao announced that a jumbo hospital with 800 beds capacity will be set up for serving patients of Covid-19 in Pune city and district. But now it seems that the district officials have forgotten their promise of 800 beds. The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) on Thursday has asked the implementing agency 'Med-Bro' to keep only 600 beds at the Shivajinagar jumbo hospital.

At a time when the central government and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan himself has announced that a second wave of Covid-19 infections may hit India in the coming December and January months of the winter season, instead of increasing the bed capacity, the local administration is keen on reducing it. The PMRDA says that the decision has been taken as at present the patient count is less.

During the inauguration of the jumbo hospital, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had said that the Shivajinagar jumbo hospital would be run for six months with the original capacity. However, now it is evident from the work order issued to Med-Bro that the number of beds have been reduced.

Dr Sanjeev Waware, Assistant Heath Chief of PMC said, "The central government's monitoring team has asked to keep the ICU and oxygenated beds capacity in the jumbo and municipal hospitals as decided earlier in view of the possibility of the second wave of Covid-19. Hence we need adequate beds in jumbo as well as municipal hospitals."

Dr Shreyansh Kapale, dean at jumbo hospital said, "We have received a work order of 600 beds for jumbo hospital. But we have a workforce of doctors and nurses available according to the original capacity of the centre."