New Delhi: Delhiites may be scrambling for beds and oxygen amid the deadly surge of Covid cases, but judges and officials of the Delhi High Court won’t have to, with 100 rooms being reserved for them in the Ashoka Hotel.
The move comes after a “request” was received from the Delhi High Court “for
setting up of CHC facility for the Hon’ble Justices and other judicial officers of Delhi High Court and their families”.
So, the Delhi government decided to requisition 100 rooms at the hotel to set up a Covid Health Centre for judges and judicial officers of the Delhi HC and their families.
Invoking the powers under the Disaster Management Act 2005 and the Delhi Epidemic Diseases COVID19 Regulations 2020, the Chanakyapuri Sub-Divisional Magistrate office Monday issued the relevant orders Sunday. The rooms will be attached to Primus Hospital, a private hospital in Chanakyapuri.
The order, a copy of which was accessed by ThePrint, reads: “…in exercise of powers conferred under Acts/Regulations mentioned above, and in overall imminent public interest, do hereby require the 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi for setting up of COVID health facility for the use of Hon’ble Justices and other Judicial officers of Delhi High Court and their families and place at the disposal of Primus Hospital, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, with immediate effect…”
A Covid Health Centre is a level II facility that has assured oxygen beds. It also needs to have a “dedicated Basic Life Support Ambulance (BLSA) equipped with sufficient oxygen support for ensuring safe transport of a case to a Dedicated COVID Hospital if the symptoms progress from moderate to severe.”
The decision was taken in response to a request by the high court.
Also read: Wear masks at home too, follow Covid protocol if you have symptoms but test negative, govt says
Hotel staff to get protective gear
The SDM’s order specifies that the hotel staff will get protective gear to cater to these 100 rooms and will also be provided with basic training.
Primus Hospital will provide the ambulance for transfer facility and waste disposal will also be the hospital’s responsibility. If the hotel is short on staff, the hospital will have to provide additional staff as well.
“All the services including rooms, housekeeping, disinfection and food for the patients et cetera shall be provided by hotel. The charges shall be collected by hospital and the hospital shall make the payment to the hotel. The Primus Hospital may accommodate the doctors nurses and other paramedical staff at their own expenses after deciding the rates mutually,” the order, signed by SDM Geeta Grover, notes.
Delhi is currently witnessing a devastating Covid surge and there is a critical shortage of beds and oxygen in the city.
According to the Delhi government’s Covid bulletin, as of Sunday, only 1,579 beds from a total of 20,333 beds were vacant. Furthermore, of the 196 beds in Covid-dedicated health centres, only 56 were vacant.
Read the SDM’s complete order here:
Also read: India’s vaccine shortage threatens to prolong its Covid crisis
SO irresponsible! How could you give a misleading headline like that? Did you speak to sources from the court? Shame!
“the decision was taken in response to a request by the high court.” – there is nothing in this article that confirms the last line …. does the government order mention that the request has been received from the high court….. if it does, then that must also have been published …. if it doesn’t then the writer of this article has no business to state that the request has been received from the HC…..
Delhi high court never asked for hotel rooms. Same was conveyed by HC judges in order today. Don’t tell half cooked stories “The Print”
Turns out to be just another fake news circulated by media. How low media can go is just a revelation during this pandemic.
Does Supreme court know this? If it knows, what it intends to do? Delhites are having difficulty for Remdesivir drug and oxygen, where as the same will be available in abundence at the reserved hotel? Is it justfiable? The staff at the hotel will be wearing PPE while at other places staff at other places work at own risk. Are the judges, their wives, sons, daughters, their in laws , even their servants are so important compared to others? They call business community and government servants corrupt and is this not corruption? Kejriwal’s instructions should be immediately revoked by Governor. THIS KEJRIWAL HAS PROSTRATED BEFORE THE JUDGES TAKING OUT ALL CLOTES ON BODY.
Not only that, recently in a Delhi HC hearing it was found that 52,000 vials of remdesivir was given to Delhi (government) compared to 2,500 vials of remdesivir claimed by the Delhi government
When lakhs of people are suffering for want of proper fecilities at govt hospitals the elite judges want 5 star stay. Their true face is exposed by this lavish treatment required by them. Can’t they take treatment at govt hospitals or at private hospitals at their own expense? Are they so poor?
Are they VIP…..why not this facility extended to all citizens??
It shows their colonial mindset…..or khujaliwal wants quid pro quo…..
Ah ! The joys of being privileged. Certainly there is a difference between common man and the lords.
Wowww! For aam janta- roads, for so called elite, five star hotel! That’s so pathetic and discriminatory
What a shame!
So much for equality before the law.
Now we know one more category of VIPs
Common man is hapless, judges get five star care? More equal than others?
So a judges in a High court sells itself very cheap
Why my Lordship needs 5-star Hotel rooms, that too 100, and who will pay the Bill?? Public money, the Leftist Judiciary acting like Monarchs ?? But in India leftist Media will never complain about Judiciary as they both are Leftists.
How can beds be reserved for one section of the people while others languish.
One can understand if judges are given priority but to give all judicial staff a kind of reservation over others needs to be debated.
On the contrary I would say that all nurses and doctors providing services to the sick need to be given the greatest priority not judicial staff.
Wow.. this is all I can say.
Wow. Talk about first among equals.
At this pace our courts will have first aadhikar on nation’s resources.
This is mockery of constitutional powers and must be criminalized.
This is unconstitutional at best and can be defeated at each level from lower to supreme.
To add insult to injury is five star bandobast for judiciary and its family.
Chennai high court will send Delhi high court behind bars based on today’s observation.
Rut is wide open in our courts and naked depravity malice of our courts can be seen by aam jaanta.
The judges who ordered this five star treatment should be behind bars. How is this different from hoarding black marketing.
Absolutely disgusting !!
Citizens are told no beds , dying on streets and they are creating 100 oxygen beds in 5 star hotels for the same judiciary which was giving sermons recently !!
Why are we tolerating them …. shame not on them , but on us to tolerate them.
Delhi Govt lost their moral right to govern given the state of delhi …. Now , they need to be dismissed ….
Which Delhi govt? According to the GNCTD bill passed by modi in a hurry amid a pandemic in March, Delhi govt means the LG. Pls clarify who told whom to do this.
Lmao really? If Arvind Kejriwal could go live on a private meeting between the PM and the Chiefs, he doesn’t seem to have had a problem with this issue, considering he goes around acting as the saviour of the masses, and commenting on everything that the LG ‘doesn’t allow’ him to do lol
since the current covid management is being handled by arvind kejriwal, online and offline, it is logical to presume that his government would have been the one to issue ithe instrucions, don’t you think so ??