Kirit Somaiya demands FIR against ambulance operators inactive amid COVID-19 crisis

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Thursday wrote a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh asking him to take action against the missing ambulances that were not reporting to duty amid the pandemic. In his letter, Kirit Somaiya alleged that Ambulances under Medical Emergency Act needed to report to duty however over 3000 ambulance owners were missing from duty in Mumbai. He also stated that only 50 odd ambulances out of 108 are available leading to a massive crisis as critical patients were unable to reach hospitals on time.

Urging the Maha Vikas Aghadi-led Maharashtra Government to take action, he stated that just like doctors were being pulled up to report to duty, action should be taken to ask ambulance owners to report to duty as well.

'Maharashtra Bachao Andolan'

Meanwhile, the BJP on Friday will kick off the 'Maharashtra Bachao Andolan' (Save Maharashtra protest) against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state. The party claimed that the state government has failed to contain the Coronavirus pandemic. The BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and party workers will stage a protest by holding placards outside residences of the ministers of Maharashtra government.

Devendra Fadnavis had earlier said that the situation has gone out of hands in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra because of the government's failure. Fadnavis and other senior leaders, including state unit president Chandrakant Patil, and others held a video conference meeting on Monday. "BJP leaders will submit their demands with officials in various talukas and districts as part of the process," Patil said.

Read: Maharashtra's COVID-19 Tally Surges Close To 40,000 Mark; State's Death Toll At 1390

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COVID-19 in Maharashtra

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally swelled to 39,297 after 2,250 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, May 20. There are 27,581 active cases in the state at present. The number of recovered has surged to more than 10,000 with 679 patients being discharged from various hospitals across the state in the day. 65 deaths-41 from Mumbai, 13 from Pune, three from Navi Mumbai, two each from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Ulhasnagar, and Aurangabad were reported on Wednesday taking the state's death toll to 1,390. 48 of the deceased had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc

A total of 3,07,072 laboratory samples have been tested so far. There are 1849 active containment zones in the state currently. Surveillance of 65.11 lakh population has been undertaken by 15,495 surveillance squads. While 4,04,692 persons are in-home quarantine, 26,752 individuals have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. 

Read: Maharashtra Minister Jayant Patil Takes Dig At Fadnavis For Seeking Maha Relief Package

Read: BJP To Initiate 'Maharashtra Bachao Andolan' Against Maha Vikas Aghadi Govt From Friday