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Businessmen goldbrick ?King George? ?

BUSINESSMEN HAVE fleeced King George?s Medical University of equipment worth crores! How? They won the bids, took the payment but haven?t supplied equipment worth Rs 2 crore.

Published on: Nov 11, 2006, 24:34:00 IST
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BUSINESSMEN HAVE fleeced King George’s Medical University of equipment worth crores!

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HT Image

How? They won the bids, took the payment but haven’t supplied equipment worth Rs 2 crore.

But, what’s more shocking is that they have done it in connivance with some teachers and administrative officials associated with different purchase committees of the varsity.

The KGMU had floated tenders during past one year on different dates and were supposed to be delivered within three months after the payment.

However, the administration is yet to take action on the loss of money and the consequential problem to the team of doctors and varsity students in the hospital wing of the varsity.

Some of the important items that have not been delivered to the KGMU are Defibrillator (three sets), anaesthesia machine with ventilator (three sets), central suction unit, container for sterlizer, multi-channel monitor (three sets), surgical instrument sets, operating table radio lucent top with eccentric pillars (two), electro-cautery unit (two), laparoscope set, GI video endoscope set, heat and cool device for heart and lung machine.

Several other equipment for which payment were done but no consignment was received, are being listed by different departments.

Equipment have always created controversies at the KGMU.

At least half-a-dozen deaths took place in different departments for lack of life supporting equipment. Ventilator reportedly caused two deaths, of which one of was a student of the varsity.

Similarly, defibrillator is used for defibrillation of the heart, one of the key organs in human body and if unavailable, it can cause death also. Purchases done in the past also showed involvement of teachers on the purchase committees but there were no provisions made in the purchase rules about a follow-up in case the item tendered and purchased does not arrives.

The varsity administration has changed purchase rules but for the past purchases that did not actually materialised nothing seems happening.

When asked the finance officer Abdul Gani said, “We have done a little change in the purchase rules by involving some experts in every committee formed to screen tenders but there was no informed about items that were paid for but not delivered.”

The matter of these items was put up in the hospital board meeting two months ago. But even the board that is responsible for hospital functioning could not do much apart from taking a strong note of the missing items.

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