Mangaluru/Bengaluru, Aug 12: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday took to task the top local administrators over the shortage of gloves and masks for health officers.
“Don’t you have common sense? How can you ignore the employees’ health. They have not been provided with masks and other safety medical equipment. How will they work without these safety equipment amid the Covid pandemic? Enough funds have been provided. Buy the required safety equipment immediately,” he gave a piece of his mind to Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra.
He also lambasted District Health Officer Dr Kishore Kumar on the same issue. “Why can’t you boldly ask the deputy commissioner about the requirements? Were you sleeping? Why didn’t you tell me about the shortage of masks? Actually, you do not have interest in working,” he said.
Bommai took a dig at the officers after Congress MLA and former health minister U T Khader raised the issue in a review meeting held regarding the controlling of pandemic in the district.
He said there is a need to control the rising cases in the district. He also directed the officials to shift 80 per cent of the people in home isolation to covid centres at the earliest.
Bommai directed the Deputy Commissioner to deploy more health officials and police on the borders in three shifts. “There will be no oxygen crisis in the coming days,” he added.
He also assured to take steps to provide vaccines to border taluks adjoining Kerala.
