Swine flu is a deadly viral disease that visited our country and the State sometime in the past. A number of people suffering with swine flu were reported to the emergency wards in the hospitals. As such, on insistence of medical authorities, the Government decided to establish a BSL 2/3 swine flu lab in the GMC Jammu premises, as the department has already a Centrally funded laboratory wherein besides swine flu testing of various other viral diseases can be done. An amount of 6.30 crore was sanctioned for the purpose. At the same time, the Centre had also provided funds for a lab for the same purpose but not its testing kit. A tussle ensued between the State and the Central Health Ministry over providing the kit for the laboratory. This has continued for a long time. As there was no end to the row, the GMC used to get the tests conducted in GMC Kangra.
The point is that the Head of the Department of Microbiology has written to the Government that the lab provided by the Central Government has been working and the State unnecessarily incurred the huge expenditure of more than six crores of rupees by providing another lab which means only unnecessary duplication. This would have stopped pursuing the establishing of another laboratory.
From what has come out about the lab issue, one feels there is something fishy about it. It is a rare case in which duplication has happened and that is beyond our imagination. Therefore, it will be in fitness of things if a departmental inquiry is ordered into the incident and the persons with whom the responsibility of misleading the Government rests should be brought to book.
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