India extends USD 5 mn aid to Myanmar for border development projects
Dhaka, Nov 27 : India has extended a USD 5 million aid to Myanmar as its assistance for development projects on the Indo-Myanmar border.
India's Ambassador to Myanmar, Vikram Misri handed over a cheque of USD 5 million to Myanmar's Minister for Border Affairs, Lt General Ye Aung at a ceremony on Monday.
Under the 2012 Border Region Development agreement, Indian government is extending USD 5 million micro development assistance every year for five years for projects on India-Myanmar border.
"Friendship Project|Amb @VikramMisri handed over US$ 4.95 Million Ceremonial Cheque to Union Minister for Border Affairs, Lt. General Ye Aung as India's assistance to Myanmar's Border Area Development Project," Misri tweeted.
India and Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding for border development in May 2012, under which India is to provide a total of USD 25 million to Myanmar, divided into five tranches of USD 5 million each.
Under the first year project plan, 21 schools, 17 health centres and eight bridges are being built in Chin State and Naga Self Administered Zone of Myanmar through the Myanmar's Border Affairs ministry, according the information available on the website of the Indian Embassy in Myanmar.
The Myanmar government is in the process of selecting contractors to execute the second year projects under which five road projects each would be completed in Chin and Naga Self-Administered Zone, it said.
Three schools would be also set in Chin state and eight in the Naga Self-Administered Zone, it added.
Myanmar shares around 1600 km border with four Northeastern Indian states?Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
