The lavish Ashoka Hotel in Delhi has been turned into a COVID-19 care centre dedicated to the judges of the Delhi High Court and their families amid rising cases and shortage of hospital beds and medically-equipped quarantine centres.
Geeta Grover, the sub-divisional magistrate of the Chanakyapuri area in Delhi released an official order confirming the news on Tuesday.
The decision, however, has led to Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal being accused of giving "VVIP" (very very important person) treatment to the judges at a time the city should be focusing on arranging beds and medical supplies.
Delhi residents have shared images appearing to show infected residents lying on the streets of the Indian capital and have compared their reality to the comfort being extended to the judges.
A total of a hundred rooms in the posh hotel have been reserved for the Delhi judges. Delhi's Primus Hospital will be running the COVID care services at Hotel Ashoka as the distance between the two is merely 2.4 kilometres.
The total number of active cases in Delhi stands at 92,358, as per India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India has logged over 323,000 COVID cases along with 2,771 deaths in the last 24 hours.