Turn Old Secretariat Into Covid Hospital: Congress

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy on Thursday demanded that the state government use the old Secretariat building as a Covid-19 hospital or a quarantine centre instead of demolishing it.

Reddy, in a media statement, said that the demolition of the present structure and construction of a new Secretariat at a cost of nearly Rs 1,000 crore would be a criminal waste of public money, especially in the present circumstances.

"The end of the pandemic does not look near. Therefore it is high time that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao shifted his entire focus to handling the Covid-19 situation. Our focus should be on the upgradation of the health infrastructure and the appointment of medical professionals at all levels, and access to free and quality medicare," he said.

The leader said that the Secretariat was strategically located and that many blocks were in extremely good condition. He said that the usable space in many blocks could be utilised as a dedicated Covid-19 hospital or quarantine facility.

He said that the KCR government should change its adamant attitude and open up to new ideas and suggestions. "KCR's stature will not go down if he accepts the suggestions made by the leaders of the opposition parties. The CM should apply his wisdom and not just think of politics in taking decisions which can benefit the common people," he said.

"With each passing day, the situation is turning from bad to worse. The state government will not be able to cover up its mistakes by manipulating data on the number of cases and deaths. The real conditions will be known to everyone tomorrow, if not today. Therefore KCR should not try to fool himself or others by painting a wrong picture of the Covid-19 situation. We urge the Chief Minister to postpone the idea of demolishing the Secretariat and convert the same into a Covid-19 hospital on a war footing," Reddy added.