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Make AIIMS-Patna a shopping mall, says Addl Secy on seeing juice, samosa vends near OPD
Additional secretary Sanjeeva Kumar makes a tongue-in-cheek remark on seeing encroachments on AIIMS-Patna campus.
The ministry of health and family welfare (MoH&FW) has commented that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna (AIIMS-P), will do well if it is converted into a “shopping mall”.
Additional secretary, health, Sanjeeva Kumar, who was on an inspection to the institute on Tuesday, reportedly made the tongue-in-cheek comment when he discovered separate juice and samosa vends near the out-patient department (OPD) on the institute campus.
After having enquired from AIIMS-Patna officials, who told him that the two vends had come up illegally, the officer reportedly remarked, “Make this a mall… ‘khub chalega’ (it will do brisk business).”
The officer was flabbergasted that encroachment of the institute campus had begun even before it was fully ready. Kumar’s remark left the medical superintendent Dr Umesh Bhadani and financial advisor Anant Prakash, who were accompanying the officer, with egg on their faces.
Interestingly, a private druggist shop is also functional on the first floor of the institute building, despite expiry of its service contract.
The drug store was in news recently for supplying wrong medicine to a patient, leading to severe complications. Prescribed a drug called Lumerax-80 to cure a patient’s malarial symptoms on June 28, the store provided the patient with Luramax-80 — a drug meant to address psychiatric concerns. The patient subsequently suffered a paralytic attack, and had to be admitted to a private hospital.
Union health secretary CK Mishra had sent additional secretary Kumar to AIIMS-Patna following complaints of infrastructure deficiencies and slow progress of construction work.
HT’s efforts to contact Kumar proved futile. His private secretary in Delhi said the officer did not respond to the phone buzzer.
Cellphones of Dr Bhadani and Prakash were switched off.
