Pigs roam freely in corridor of COVID-19 hospital, video goes viral

Photo used for representational purposes

A video of a herd of pigs reportedly roaming freely inside a hospital treating COVID-19 patients in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka has triggered outrage on social media, with people questioning the ''negligence'' of authorities.

The video purportedly shows pigs roaming freely in the corridors of the hospital, undeterred by people walking nearby. People and staff were also seen going about their regular activities as usual.

Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu has in a tweet said the incident where pigs were seen at Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) was three days old.

He said as soon as he got information about it he instructed authorities to immediately take necessary action. "The owners of the pigs were called, pigs around the hospital were caught and shifted. District administration and concerned officials have been instructed to see to it that such incidents don''t repeat," he had said in another tweet.

According to official sources, District Deputy Commissioner B Sharath visited the hospital and took officials and security staff to task. He has also instructed officials to file FIR against the owner of the pigs.

With the incident going viral on social media and television channels, Congress MLA from the district Priyank Kharge hit out at the BJP government in the state. "Congratulations @BJP4Karnataka you have put Kalayana Karnataka (Hyderabad Karnataka region) on national TV. The 1st reported COVID death in the country was Kalaburagi. What are the lessons we have learnt? What did we teach others? What are the SOPs being followed? NOTHING! BJP Govt is busy making profits!" he tweeted.

As of July 18 evening, cumulatively 59,652 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,240 deaths and 21,775 discharges. Kalaburagi till last evening had reported a total of 2,674 cases.