The coaches will have 320 beds
New Delhi: Indian Railways has converted 20 coaches with 320 beds into the Covid care centre in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, tweeted Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
These coaches will start functioning from tomorrow, the minister said as the country grapples with scarcity of beds and oxygen.
"In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 20 Covid Care Coaches have been arranged by the Indian Railways, which will have 320 beds. These coaches will start functioning from April 25," tweeted Mr Goyal.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had assured Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan that the army hospitals in the state will be opened for the public during the ongoing pandemic.
The Indian Railways has converted 4,002 train coaches into Covid care-cum-isolation facilities to provide assistance to state governments amid surging coronavirus cases in the country.
Additionally, as some states are facing scarcity of medical oxygen amid surging COVID-19 cases in the country, railways is transporting Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and oxygen cylinders across the key corridors.