Chandigarh hospitals says ventilators provided under PM-CARES fund “did not work properly”
Says they had requested ventilators from other firms but were given machines from Gujarat firm
The firm is said to have connections to top BJP leaders
New Delhi: The three government hospitals in Chandigarh which received ventilators under the PM-CARES fund have complained to the health department and the Union government about the technical issues with the ventilators, according to a report published by The Tribune.
According to the report, the ventilators were provided to the three hospitals under PM CARES fund during the second wave surge in cases of deadly Coronavirus in May this year. Out of a total of 44 ventilators, 20 were given to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, 10 to the Government Medical College and Hospital, and 14 to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital.
The director of the Government Medical College and Hospital told the news outlet that five out of the 10 ventilators “did not work properly.”
A report further stated that all of these ventilators were manufactured by Gujarat firm Jyoti CNC Automation, Tribune report noted.
‘Dhaman-1’ ventilators manufactured by the same firm had also triggered controversy last year when Ahmedabad civil hospital superintendent J.V. Modi wrote to the state government’s medical services provider, saying that they were “not able to bring desired results”.
Another media outlet, The Wire had last year reported that the current and past promoters of Jyoti CNC Automation have had connections to top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. Some of the company’s past promoters include one business family linked to the controversial gift of an expensive suit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it had added.
Notably, a senior health official told Tribune that the Chandigarh hospitals had asked the Union government (under whose jurisdiction the Union Territory falls) for ventilators from the company Hamilton Medical when information was sought from them on ventilator requirement.
“However, the ministry asked to send a fresh requirement without mentioning the brand name. The ventilators were assessed by all three hospitals and technical issues were found in operating these,” the unnamed official told Tribune.
“At least 237 of the 320 ventilators received through the PM CARES Fund at three government medical colleges in Punjab were found defective and lying non-functional in early May,” the Tribune report noted.
Earlier this month, following complaints from hospitals in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court had ordered that if any ventilators supplied by the Centre to Maharashtra are found to be defective, then these devices should be replaced. The court had significantly said that it will not allow “experiments” to be carried out on COVID-19 patients and that any loss of life caused by these ventilators would be the Centre’s responsibility.
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Passenger, railway staff in Maddur stabbed by two men who fought for train seat
Mandya: An argument over a seat in a train intensified into a fight, resulting in a passenger and a Railways staff member being stabbed and sustaining grievous injuries near the Maddur Railway Station in the district on Wednesday.
The other passengers as well as the locals are said to have caught and assaulted the three accused as they were attempting to escape. The trio, Subaan Qureishi, Shoiab Qureishi and Wasim, has been handed over to the police.
The assault victims, identified as Shivakumar of Tumakuru and Railways staff Kumar were taken to the Maddur Taluk Hospital for first aid and later shifted to the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) District Hospital.
The argument is said to have erupted over a seat in the Mysuru-Bengaluru train. When a third passenger, Shivakumar, tried to intervene, however, the men fighting for the seat allegedly stabbed him with a knife. Shivakumar is said to have pulled the chain of the train, which was arriving at the Maddur station and was at Channegowdanadoddi on the outskirts of the town, in a desperate attempt to save his life.
The suspects, who tried to jump off the train which was slowing down, stabbed Kumar, the railway gate-keeper near Channegowdanadoddi, as he attempted to stop the duo from escaping.
The other passengers in the train and the locals at the station caught up with the accused, who were escaping and assaulted them physically before handing them over to the police.
A case has been registered by the Railway Police and the officers are investigating the incident.
