A Right to Information (RTI) petition filed by The Hindu has revealed that for four years, crores in public money has been spent on the State Institute of Sports Medicine in Kozhikode. But the institute, claimed to be the first of its kind in southern India, is virtually non-functional.
Nevertheless, a total of Rs.2.16 crore had been allotted for the institute from 2009 to 2012.
Purchases
Further, advanced sports medicine equipment worth Rs.1,28,65,772 had been purchased, including an isokinetic system worth Rs.44.5 lakh and a shockwave therapy unit for Rs.20 lakh, for the institute.
The information was received in a written reply dated January 5, 2013, from the Office of the Principal, Kozhikode Medical College.
A question on the “total cost incurred for construction, maintenance, repair of the building for the institute and facilities available in it,” however, received a non-committal reply that “details are not made available by the deemed Public Information Officer (PIO).”
Only clinics
No posts had been created for the institute, the reply said. Instead, doctors and postgraduate students from the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation conducted outpatient clinics twice a week.
“There is no staff exclusively working in the institute as post creation for the institute has not yet been made,” the RTI response revealed.
No protocol
There is no formal protocol for inpatient care. The RTI response vaguely claims there is “provision for inpatient” without specifying any further.
“Operation theatre, diagnostic services, physiotherapy and other services cannot be carried out at present because of the lack of staff concerned and other facilities mentioned in the proposal for staff of the institute,” it revealed.
The reply on a request to provide a list of sportspersons who have sought treatment at the institute is equally cryptic.
The response is: “Sportspersons from the District are attending.”
