Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday cautioned that the chances of a third Covid wave were quite real, and asserted his government was preparing on a war-footing to combat it. He said that the indications of a third wave are coming from the UK where coronavirus cases are rising again despite 45 per cent of its population being vaccinated. So, we cannot afford to sit idle, he told an online event to inaugurate 22 new PSA oxygen plants at nine hospitals across Delhi. He said these plants have a total production capacity of 17.3 MT, and they will strengthen the preparations to fight Covid. As many as 17 more oxygen plants will be started by July, he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday stressed the need for creating manufacturing hubs across the country, and said if it is pursued on war footing, India can leave China behind in the sector, a Delhi government statement said. Speaking virtually at the sixth Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also said that attention was not paid to the manufacturing sector in the country over the last 70 years, enabling China to capture local markets, he said. We saw how China has been challenging us on the border, and on the other hand, it has captured our markets and Chinese products are replacing Indian products on a large scale. If we all work together, India can overtake China in manufacturing, he asserted in the meeting.
The Delhi government has already announced that the coronavirus vaccine, whenever it is available, will be provided free to people in the national capital.