Coronavirus India Lockdown: Noida Chief Medical Officer Removed, Second Officer To Lose Office In A Week

The Uttar Pradesh government has shunted out the chief medical officer (CMO) of Gautam Buddh Nagar Anurag Bhargava, according to an official order.

Mr Bhargava is the second high-level officer to be shifted in Noida after the district magistrate was shunted out earlier this week after a meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the coronavirus situation.

AP Chauturvedi has been appointed as the CMO replacing Mr Bhargava with immediate effect, stated the order that was issued on Tuesday night by Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) to the UP government Amit Mohan Prasad.

"Bhargava is being attached with Narendra Bhooshan, the chief executive officer of the Greater Noida Authority, who has been appointed by the state government as the nodal officer in-charge of Gautam Buddh Nagar for efforts to control the coronavirus infection to provide him support," the order stated.

"Bhargava is directed to immediately hand over the charge to Chaturvedi and offer his services to the nodal officer (Bhooshan)," it added.

Gautam Buddh Nagar, including Noida and Greater Noida, has emerged as one of the hotspots for coronavirus cases in the country with 48 COVID-19 positive patients so far and has reported the maximum cases for any district in UP.

Prior to the CMO, Brijesh Narain Singh was abruptly shunted out as the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar on March 31, within hours of a high-level meeting chaired by the chief minister to review the situation in the wake of the pandemic.

The chief minister had reprimanded the officers for "their inability" to contain the spread of the virus and particularly handling of a private company in Noida which is suspected to have triggered a chain of infections.

The company, Cease Fire, was on March 29 booked for endangering the lives of people and other charges on a complaint by Bhargava and has now been sealed, even as the local Health Department officials said that the source of infection to over 30 people could be traced to this firm located in Sector 135.