New Delhi: India Post under Ministry of Communications has entered into a tie-up with ICMR for delivery of COVID-19 testing Kits from its 16 regional depots to the 200 additional labs designated for COVID-19 testing across the nation.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set a target of carrying out around 1 lakh tests across the country per day. Further, India Post with its vast network of 1,56,000 post offices has come in association with ICMR.
Minister of Law and Justice of India, Ravi Shankar Prasad appreciated the renewed commitment and partnership between ICMR and Department of Post.
He said that India Post has been delivering mails, medicines, financial assistance at doorsteps and even distributing food and ration to needy during the lockdown. He further acknowledged that postmen of India Posts Department have risen to the occasion and stood shoulder to shoulder with the nation during these challenging times.
Special arrangements have been made by India Post with ICMR for kits being delivered from 16 depots (located in 14 postal circles/ states) to 200 labs located across the country even in remote areas such as Shivamogga, Tirunelveli, Dharmapuri, Tirupati, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Leh, Jammu, Udhampur, Jhalawar, Bhavnagar Sholapur, Darbhanga, Rishikesh, Faridkot and others.
These kits are being delivered packed in dry ice; nodal officers have been identified from both the agencies (DoP & ICMR ) for each regional depot to ensure smooth operations. The Circles have made necessary arrangements with timelines for the priority transportation of the consignments to the concerned laboratories either as per the existing system or new arrangements depending on the requirement and have communicated the same to the ICMR nodal officers.
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Each booking circle has opened a BNPL (Book Now Pay Later) account of Speed Post with the concerned Depot to make the arrangement hassle-free for the agency. The delivery information is shared with the labs on a daily basis through WhatsApp. A Google spreadsheet has been shared with all nodal officers to update the details of the booking and delivery of the testing kits to flag any operational glitches.
Ravi Shankar Prasad called upon the Department to continue with its good work and leave no stones unturned in making timely delivery of medicines, testing kits and other medical equipment. He asked the Department to galvanise its vast network and leave no gaps in the delivery of essential items.
16 Depots of ICMR are NIMR, New Delhi, PGI Chandigarh, KGMU Lucknow, RMRI Patna, NIRNCD Jodhpur, NIOH Ahmedabad, NIREH Bhopal, NICED Kolkata, NIV Pune, NIV field unit Bangalore, NIN Hyderabad, NIE Chennai, RMRC Dibrugarh, RMRC Bhubaneswar, NIRRH Mumbai, GMC Guwahati.
