Ex IAS officer and BJP MLC AK Sharma steps in to control worsening Varanasi pandemic

Former Gujarat cadre IAS officer and now BJP MLC in Uttar Pradesh, AK Sharma, has stepped in to control the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in Varanasi and nearby districts. Sharma was earlier with the Prime Minister’s Office before joining the BJP and being nominated for MLC.

Varanasi, PM Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, is among the districts reporting high numbers of Covid-19 cases in UP. It recorded 1,585 cases on Wednesday and three deaths.

Sharma arrived in the city on Monday evening and since then he has been holding meetings with government officials. On Tuesday he held a meeting with the district magistrate (DM), police commissioner and health officials of the district. On Wednesday, he held a meeting with police officials. He will coordinate between the state and the central governments to help improve the situation in Varanasi and nearby districts.


On Wednesday, the district administration also launched a Kashi Covid Response Centre and advertised helpline numbers to assist callers with information on how to deal with coronavirus.

During his meetings, Sharma instructed the officials to work with double the speed of the virus spread and made it clear that he would stay put in Varanasi till the pandemic is brought under control.

In his meeting with police officials, he instructed them to ensure complete follow-up of Covid guidelines and night curfew. He also asked for strong action against those not following the basic protocol of mask and physical distancing.

On Wednesday, Varanasi DM Kaushal Raj Sharma issued an advisory appealing to the foreign and domestic tourists not to come to Varanasi till April-end. For all those visiting Kashi Vishwanath temples, a Covid negative report has been made mandatory. Health department officials said that on the previous day 2,000 remdesivir doses had arrived in the district directly from the Centre.

In a meeting on Tuesday, some officials had raised the issue of shortage of oxygen cylinders and remdesivir injections. Sharma immediately talked to the authorities in Lucknow and Delhi and things were arranged. He has also instructed the administration to increase the number of beds in hospitals at the earliest.

On Wednesday, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked state officials to procure 25,000 remdesivir doses from Ahmedabad using the state aircraft.