The central government is continuously extending all possible help to Jammu and Kashmir in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.He said the healthcare institutions in the Union territory have been upgraded with necessary medical infrastructure, including augmentation of oxygen supply and increased bed strength, to provide for more patients. Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, made the remarks during a visit to Kathua district which is part of his home constituency, Udhampur. He handed over Rs 10 lakh to Kathua Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav as contribution raised for the wards of Covid victims.During his visit, the minister also met a group of children who had lost their earning parent during the pandemic.”The country is going through trying times due to the second wave of coronavirus. Jammu province has also recorded a high positivity rate during this wave in which many lost their family’s breadearners, making life difficult for them,” he said.Singh said it was not in any way possible to compensate for the loss of near and dear ones, but “we have sought to make a very small and a humble effort to stand by these children”.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken the lead in coming forward to announce substantial financial support for such children and this humane move inspired all of us to contribute or do whatever possible within our means to help those affected by the unprecedented calamity,” he said.Singh said the central government is continuously extending all possible help to Jammu and Kashmir in its fight against Covid.To provide immediate relief, Government of India has authorised members of Parliament to reallocate Rs 2.5 crore of MPLAD funds for Covid mitigation efforts in their constituencies and it has helped to provide necessary medical and healthcare equipment, he added.The minister expressed satisfaction that the recent Covid surge in the Union territory has been on a progressive decline during the last two weeks
