Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh has dedicated the first COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab of the country called “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab” to the nation by video conference in the august presence of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs, K.T. Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & IT E&C, Govt. of Telangana and Shri Chamakura Malla Reddy, Minister of Labour and Employment, Factories, Govt. of Telangana from New Delhi.
The Lab was developed by Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Government of India in collaboration with ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar (Hyderabad) with the due permission of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Govt. of Telangana.
While speaking on the occasion, Rajnath Singh appreciated the efforts of DRDO & ESIC in setting up of the Bio-Safety Level 2 & Level 3 lab in a record time of 15 days which usually takes around 6 months time. He further added, this testing facility can process over 1,000 samples in a day & will enhance country’s capabilities to fight COVID-19.
Santosh Kumar Gangwar complemented DRDO & ESIC to develop the mobile testing lab in a very short time. He added, it will be very important in our fight against coronavirus. The efforts made by ESIC are commendable.
G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs, complemented the team scientists of DRDO and doctors of ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad for developing the facility.
COVID-19 testing centre at ESIC Medical & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad will utilize this new innovative mobile diagnostic & research facility called “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab”. It will be first of its kind facility in the country for Covid-19 & other related testing and research purposes.
About Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab:
The design of Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab is developed by DRDO scientists whereas specification of the lab has been provided by ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad. The project is executed and constructed by 3 industry partners of DRDO.
ESIC Medical Collage and hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad is a 500 bedded hospital. In addition to that 150 beds are also available in the hospital for super-speciality treatment like oncology, nephrology, neuro surgery, cardiology, pediatric surgery etc. so that ESI beneficiaries get the best of treatment under one roof.
