Learn To Live With This Virus: KTR

Stressing on people will have to “learn to live with COVID-19” until a vaccine or drug is invented, Minister for IT and Industries and Working President of TRS KT Rama Rao said the Centre needs to extend help to States for infrastructure to access newer avenues as many companies across the globe are on the lookout for new geographies as part of de-risking strategy post Coronavirus situation.

KTR said the Telangana government sought about Rs 4,000 crore from the Centre for providing infrastructure at the upcoming Pharma City near here to make it a world-class facility following the increased importance of drug and vaccine manufacturing facilities due to pandemic.

“Let us come to that understanding first that no matter how much we would like to get rid of this virus, the fact is that there is no vaccine,” he said in an interview.

Maintaining that there should not be a “toss between lives and livelihood”, KTR said the whole world was appreciating India for its strategies to combat the spread and that had made attractive new investments into the nation.

KTR said he already wrote a letter to Union Minister for Railways PiyushGoyal requesting the Centre to invest more in industrial corridors with the self-contained township that would be insulated in case of any pandemics.

“Hyderabad Pharma City project can be a project for international interests. It is Kakatiya Mega Textile Park at Warangal. We need, just for Pharma City, 900 megawatts of power. We need about Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,000 crore on just power. I need another 2,000 crores for water provision,” the Minister said.

He said in Telangana the rate of recovery from the virus was much higher than the rate of infection giving an edge to move towards restoring certain aspects of functioning as a society to a large extent.

Post-Covid-19, according to him the business will not be as usual with new styles of functioning and work cultures in place. Highlighting that personal hygiene of employees would be the paramount objective for companies; Rama Rao said de- densification of the workforce would become the order of the day.