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LUCKNOW: With the Covid-19 second wave continuing its lethal run, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to set up a 1,000-bed hospital in Lucknow, which recorded 6,598 cases in the last 24 hours.
Lucknow MP and Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh has pitched in to stem the crisis in his constituency and directed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to help set up the facility. The Defence Expo-2020 site at Vrindavan Yojana next to Shaheed Path, has been identified for this project.
Sources said, DRDO teams reached the state capital late Friday and hit the ground running to set up at least three makeshift hospitals. The government also swiftly acquired the Haj House on Kanpur Road and Golden Blossom Resort on Faizabad Road for converting them into temporary Covid hospitals. Another 16 private hospitals have agreed to treat Covid patients, giving an additional 450 beds, of which 40 have ICU facilities.