by Aqib Nazir

Baramulla: The lift system of District Hospital Baramulla hasn’t been working for the past two years causing inconvenience to scores of patients who visit the facility for healthcare needs.

In absence of a lift, attendants carrying a patient on a wheelchair in District hospital Baramulla. Kl Image

Locals allege that the officials of District Hospital Baramulla managed to get the tenders for the lift system’s maintenance allotted to their “close aides” for monetary benefits.

They alleged that the “close aides” have since failed to keep the lifts functional.

According to attendants, patients, who are recently operated along with sensitive surgical cases, are carried on shoulders from one floor of the hospital to the other.

Abdul Rashid an attendant, “They are not life saviours; they are acting as parasites. They will suck all our blood for their own benefits. No one cares about poor patients.”

“What kind of hospital is this where we have to lift patients who have undergone a surgery on shoulders, who would take the responsibility if something happens on the stairs?” another attendant said.

The Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Syed Masood said the non-operational lift system is not a problem exclusively limited to District Hospital Baramulla, asking this reporter to go and check in two more hospitals located in summer capital Srinagar.

“It is not our problem that Jammu Kashmir Projects Constructions Corporation (JKPCC) has installed ‘B’ Grade lift instead of ‘A’ grade. There are two more hospitals having defunct lifts since 2019, one is JLNM Hospital and L.D Hospital Srinagar, go and check there also,” the MS said.

However, when this reporter went to the two said hospitals (JLNM and L D), located in Srinagar, both had functional lifts.

According to JKPCC officials, the said project was handed over to the District Hospital Baramulla authorities after completion of the three years Defect Liability Period (DLP).

“It’s not our job to look after the project after its Defect Liability Period (DLP) is completed. We have handed over this project to the concerned authorities in the year 2015. It was their headache to make it usable,” an official from the JKPCC said.

It is pertinent to mention here that in 2019 the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered FIR against some engineers of the Jammu Kashmir Projects Constructions Corporation (JKPCC) and a private company for allegedly installing sub-standard lifts in various hospitals in the Valley.

The FIRs were registered on the basis of a complaint and connected documents received through the State Vigilance Commission.

On scrutiny of the documents, it was revealed that JKPCC, during the year 2012-13, floated tenders for installation of 26 passenger bed lifts for district hospital Baramulla, JLNM Hospital Rainawari and L D Hospital Srinagar to be designed and installed by successful bidders as per standard specifications and codes.

The tenders were finally allotted to Techno Industries Ltd, Ahmadabad through Ace Consultants Fateh Kadal Srinagar.

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