Third Wave of COVID-19 can Hit Industrial Sector Hard, Need to be Prepared, Cautions CM Uddhav Thackeray
Mrunal Jadhav
Mumbai, April 17, 2021: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday appealed to the State government to provide all possible assistance to the industrial sector in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The chief minister also appealed to the industries to set up such facilities and adopt systems that the industrial sector and the economy remain unharmed and are not disrupted by the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Responding to this, the leading industrialists in the State assured the chief minister that the entire industrial sector is with the State administration in the fight against COVID-19.
Industry task force to be set up immediately
Chief Minister Thackeray has also directed the chief secretary to immediately set up a task force of industries to work in the future in coordination with the State government on health issues and other issues related to the sector, Currently, there is a health task force in the State.
Assurance by the industrial sector
During the meeting, the representatives of the industries said that given the urgency of the current situation, they will prioritize the availability of oxygen. The industry would take immediate steps to increase the segregation of beds, set up test centers, and increase vaccination. Urging all the industrialists to come forward and help in the time of crisis, the chief minister said that the State government would immediately help in setting up facilities required to deal with COVID-19 or other necessary matters.
‘Industries should plan to face the third wave of COVID-19’
“The State is in dire need of oxygen and currently, all the oxygen produced is being used for medical purposes. Given the number of patients, more oxygen is needed and we have informed the prime minister as well. He was contacted yesterday evening but could not be reached as he was busy with the West Bengal elections,” the chief minister said.
“Maharashtra is getting full support from the Centre. We must plan from now onwards. For example, adopting COVID-19 compatible practices, setting up testing and vaccination facilities, creating special systems for the health of workers and employees, setting up segregation system in areas and providing beds, and developing work from home system,” the chief minister added.
Industries should produce oxygen
Dr. Pradeep Vyas pointed out how serious the current situation is. “Even though the mortality rate is relatively low, the doubling period has come down to just 40 days,” he said, adding, “We are conducting about three lakh COVID-19 tests per day in a population of one million.”
“Industries should start small projects on their premises to absorb oxygen from the air based on new technologies and provide the produced oxygen purely for medical purposes,” he further added.
Representatives from JSW, Mahindra, Godrej, Bajaj, Reliance, Tata, Blue Star, L&T, Infosys, and Kinetic Engineering were speaking on behalf of all the industrialists during the meeting. They assured that immediate steps would be taken to ensure maximum safety of the employees.
Join our Whatsapp Group and Telegram for each update about Pune and PCMC.
Punekarnews.in is the first and only English language news portal of Pune – the educational and cultural capital of Maharashtra – Pune.
https://t.me/punekarnews
Whatsapp Group
