COVID-19 patients raze hospital in Tripura demanding better food

Agartala: A section of patients vandalized a COVID-19 care center in Agartala alleging they were served “poor quality food”, forcing the authorities to initiate a probe into the incident, officials said on Thursday.

According to the officials of West Tripura District Administrations, some coronavirus patients late on Wednesday night vandalised the Saheed Bhagat Singh Yuba Awas (SBSYA) COVID-19 care centre, on the outskirts of the capital city, and harassed the health workers alleging “bad quality food were served to them”.

A senior police official said they are probing the incident. Local media has reported that some COVID-19 patients, who damaged the doors and furniture of the centre, demanded chicken biryani and other quality food.

Health officials including the in-charge of the SBSYA, Himadri Bhattacharjee refused to talk about the incident citing the government’s instructions about sharing of information with the media. The SBSYA, a government lodge under the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, was recently turned into a 300-bed COVID-19 care centre.