Odisha to have COVID Warriors memorial

Odisha government willconstruct a COVID-19 Warriors Memorial at the Biju PatnaikPark here to keep alive the memory of the supreme sacrificemade by them, an official said on Monday.

The proposed memorial will be inaugurated onIndependence Day, he said adding that the works department hasbeen assigned the job of constructing the structure.

Many people including health workers, policepersonnel, teachers and sanitation workers have laid downtheir lives while working as frontline workers during thepandemic.

COVID-19 is once in a century pandemic and In orderto keep it (sacrifice) in the memory of people as well as torecognize the sacrifice and service rendered by the COVID-19warriors who have lost their lives fighting the pandemic, thegovernment has decided to construct a COVID-19 WarriorMemorial, additional chief secretary to the health and familywelfare, P K Mohapatra said.

Odisha DGP Abhay said that 48 police personnel havelaid down their lives while fighting against the pandemic.

He said police personnel had also donated the highestnumber of plasma units for the treatment of the criticalCOVID-19 patients.

The police personnel form 46 per cent of the totalplasma donors in the state, he said.

In a twitter post he said there are 2,166 plasmadonors in Odisha of which 1002 are the Odisha Police.

The first plasma donors of Odisha Police are twomembers of Odisha State Armed Police 3rd Battalion, Koraput.

They donated plasma at SCB Medical College and Hospital,Cuttack on 24, July 2020, the DGP said.

AS police personnel are listed as frontline COVID-19warriors, their vaccination drive began in the second phase onFebruary 6.