Wipro has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government under which it will repurpose one of its information technology campuses at Hinjewadi in Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care Covid-19 hospital in four weeks and hand it over to the state government by May 30. The hospital will be converted back to an IT facility after a year, the company said in a statement.
The 450-bed hospital, to be equipped to treat moderate cases, will include 12 beds to stabilise critical patients before shifting them to a tertiary care facility. This is an independent, isolated Covid-19 dedicated complex that also includes 24 well-appointed rooms to accommodate doctors and medical staff.
Wipro will provide the physical infrastructure, medical furniture and equipment besides appointing an administrator and skeletal support staff to help operationalise the hospital quickly with the required medical professionals.
Commenting on the MoU, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “This humanitarian contribution by Wipro will further strengthen our medical infrastructure and benefit the medical fraternity who are at the forefront of our fight against the pandemic.”
Wipro chairman Rishad Premji said “We are completely committed to supporting the country’s response to the pandemic and believe that we must all work together to deal with this crisis and minimise its human impact. We stand firmly with the government of Maharashtra in its battle against Covid-19”.
In early April, Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises and Azim Premji Foundation together committed Rs 1,125 crore towards tackling the unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis arising from the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
Wipro and Azim Premji Foundation are carrying out Covid-19-related humanitarian and healthcare relief work in Maharashtra across Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad-Waluj, Amalner, Ahmednagar, Akola, Beed, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli, said the company statement.