Row over faulty ventilators escalates in Maharashtra

Cong. demands action, says malfunctioning units from PMCARES endangering lives

Representative Image: According to the College, 58 ventilators supplied by Jyoti CNC were sub-standard, adding that the company had not installed another 37 ventilators. File Photo.

The row over allegedly faulty ventilators provided to Maharashtra under the PM-CARES fund escalated further on Tuesday with Aurangabad Government Medical College saying that 58 of the 150 Dhaman III ventilators received from Jyoti CNC were faulty and could not be used.

The Congress, a coalition partner in the MVA government in the State, has demanded action from the State government against the company for risking the lives of patients by provided faulty medical equipment and also an audit of all ventilators provided under the PM-CARES fund.

According to the College, 58 ventilators supplied by Jyoti CNC were sub-standard, adding that the company had not installed another 37 ventilators.

“Around 100 ventilators came on April 12 and installed on the same day. A report to the district collector was given on April 12 itself that these ventilators are not suitable for use for extremely critical COVID patients. On April 18, Jyoti company's technicians installed another 25 Dhaman-III ventilators which were returned by the ICU on April 20 due to serious errors found in them,” said the college’s report.

On the April 23, the technicians were called again but they could repair only two which, however, failed again. On same day, 55 more ventilators were distributed in other districts such as Hingoli, Beed, Osmanabad and Parbhani. The technical committee of the college submitted an inspection report on May 6.

After an uproar over the malfunctioning, two more technicians visited the College on on May 13 and 14. However, the report says, “Two ventilators they had repaired broke down again and then these technicians went away without giving service report.”

Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant has alleged that ventilators given to private hospitals for temporary usage on condition that patients will not be charged for them has also been rejected by them.

“This proves that our demand for a joint audit by the Centre and the State government and an inquiry by the State government is completely justified,” Mr. Sawant said.