PSU, Jharkhand Govt locks horn in Covid fight
NewsR Staff
Ranchi, July 15
Lack of coordination between a public sector undertaking (PSU) and Jharkhand government had stalled the setting of a Covid testing laboratory.
The district administration in collaboration with the Bokaro General Hospital, managed by state-run Bokaro Steel Plant had planned to set up the centre after a pandemic outbreak in the industrial town. The row had put the proposal on a hold for over a month now.
The authorities had written to the BGH management that the latter passed on to its parent company, the Steel Authority of India (SAIL). Sources in the BGH however said it would not be possible for them to provide manpower as the hospital was short-staffed.
While the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) management had agreed in-principle to provide land and infrastructure, the Bokaro district administration had promised to provide RT-PCR machines. But there is no taker for the manpower and testing kits.
The minimum number of people required to run a RT-PCR testing centre in two shifts would be five each, comprising a data entry operator and four lab technicians. Moreover, the expensive testing kits had made the BGH reluctant.
“A box of 100 test kits costs Rs 1.5 lakh. If we do a minimum of 100 Covid tests daily, the cost of kits alone would come to around Rs 45 lakh a month. And BGH is in no position to afford that as of now,” a BGH official told News Riveting.
Bokaro sends samples for RT-PCR testing to Dhanbad’s Patliputra Medical College and Hospital where over a thousand reports are pending, said district health sources.
Civil surgeon Dr A. K. Pathak said Bokaro must have its own RT-PCR testing centre if the current target of conducting 3,000 tests by July 25 is to be met.
