IGI stadium, Siri Fort sports complex may be turned into extended Covid hospitals

The government also identified at least 13 additional cremation facilities and four burial grounds for Covid deaths (both confirmed and suspected), showed documents accessed by HT.

With 1,095 new coronavirus cases being reported daily on an average in the past week, the Delhi government on Wednesday identified Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Siri Fort Sports Complex, the Saket Sports Complex, a private hospital, three hotels and two banquet halls among facilities that can be used as extended Covid-19 hospitals or dedicated care facilities, if the need arises.

SIRI FORT SPORTS COMPLEX on Monday August 27. Photograph: Sunil Saxena/ HT HTnews 28Pubaug2007 HTPHOTO

The government also identified at least 13 additional cremation facilities and four burial grounds for Covid deaths (both confirmed and suspected), showed documents accessed by HT.

The national capital on Wednesday reported 1,513 new cases -- the maximum in a day so far -- and nine deaths. The pathogen has so far infected 23,645 in Delhi and killed 606 people, as per Delhi government’s daily bulletin.

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On Monday, as the government announced a series of measures aimed at reviving business and commerce activities and public transport in the city, it also had issued an order directing district magistrates in all 11 revenue districts of the city to identify suitable accommodation for new patients and land for adding capacity to dispose of bodies at a reasonable distance from residential areas, latest by Wednesday.

These directions are part of the government’s augmentation plan that aimed at augmentation of bed capacity in hospitals and space required for burial and cremation.

On Wednesday, a senior government official told HT that seven out of 11 districts in the city sought more time for the exercise, with most of them citing space constraints.

While two of them – South and South-West districts– could identify additional space for burial or cremation, three – South, West and Central districts -- identified potential Covid healthcare facilities and sent preliminary reports to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

Other than the three sports facilities, the hotels and banquet halls identified by the department are located in neighbourhoods that include Chhatarpur, Bhatti Road and Hari Nagar. The private hospital is located in south Delhi’s Madangir, the documents showed. As per the documents, the cremation and burial grounds have been identified in areas that include Aya Nagar, Sultanpur, Chhatarpur, Lado Sarai, Asola and Dwarka.

Shashi Kaushal, District Magistrate (north-east), said that there is no additional space in the district where bed augmentation can be planned. “We are short of space to arrange additional beds. However, we are exploring locations for additional graveyards,” Kaushal said.

According to data compiled by the Census and the Delhi government, the north-east district comprises only 4% of Delhi’s land area but it is inhabited by more than 13% of the city’s population.

The neighbouring districts of Shahdara and East Delhi are equally congested.

“We don’t have large empty spaces where such facilities could be developed. There are small community halls where only 20-25 beds can be arranged, which serves no purpose. However, for burial grounds, we are searching for some empty land near Mandoli Jail but till now we have not identified any site,” said Sanjeev Kumar, district magistrate (Shahdara).

These districts have a few banquet halls and air-conditioned multipurpose halls but there are issues too, an official in the district administration.

“While some of them are not adequately separated by a populous area, the owners of some others are not ready to allow their properties being used for the purpose. We are trying to make them understand the concerns,” said a senior official in the revenue department.

An official in the office of New Delhi district magistrate said that they received the DDMA order on Tuesday and issued necessary instructions. “All SDMs were instructed on Tuesday to find additional spaces to accommodate more beds and also for burial grounds. The process is going on and it will take 2-3 days to identify such locations. Our priority is that such places should be away from the residential areas,” the official said.

Deepak Shinde, DM north, said, “We have initiated the process. No location has been finalised yet.” Shinde, however, did not explain why the district administration is facing difficulties in finding space.

The DDMA officials, however, did not clarify how much additional time could be given to the district officials to finish the process.