BSP MP writes to PM Modi, apprises him of alarming COVID-19 situation in AMU

Amid the unprecedented second wave of coronavirus throughout the country, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) Member of Parliament (MP) Kunwar Danish Ali wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to apprise him of the alarming COVID-19 situation in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), leaving over 50 professors dead. 

He wrote, "Sir, today Aligarh Muslim University is facing the most challenging and toughest time in a century due to the dangerous explosion of the new variant of COVID-19 that has devastated the campus and we have lost more than 50 professors including other faculty members and non-teaching staff in the last few weeks. Apart from being a Member of Parliament I am also a Member of AMU Court, and a lot of AMU alumni from all over the country and abroad, are expressing their concern and urging to save this great educational institution which has recently completed 100 years of its existence and you yourself addressed the centenary celebrations as a chief guest, in December, last year."

In his letter, he also sought medical help from the Prime Minister as AMU's medical college is not well equipped. He further wrote, "Sir, AMU needs urgent attention and immediate visit of a central team from the Ministry of Health and ICMR to assess the situation on the spot and take action without any further delay. Secondly, AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College is not fully equipped to handle such a challenging situation due to a shortage of medical equipment and other facilities. The only medical college in Aligarh and surrounding area requires sufficient medical aid, equipment, especially, oxygen plant on urgent basis, to cater a huge number of Covid patients who are struggling for their lives."

AMU VC Writes To ICMR

On May 9, AMU's Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor wrote to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Sunday, urging it to study the infection variant circulating around the university campus. In a letter to the director-general of the ICMR, the VC said several serving and retired teachers besides other employees of AMU have succumbed to the infection. He further said the microbiology laboratory at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College here is sending samples to the Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology laboratory, New Delhi, for the genome sequencing of variants detected in the town. Meanwhile, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Principal Shahid Ali Siddiqui told media persons that 25 doctors at the hospital there tested positive for the infection in the past fortnight.

In December 200, Prime Minister Modi had attended the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University through video conferencing, which marked its 100 years of existence.