KOZHIKODE: A Rs 1.30-crore imported projection perimeter was lying idle at the Government District Hospital in Idukki for quite a long time. The National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers imported one of its parts from Netherlands and rectified the costly equipment, thanks to the ‘Punarjjani’ programme of the technical education department. They have so far made functional biomedical and electrical/electronic equipment, furniture and disposal systems worth Rs 19.50 crore at 74 government institutions, a majority of them hospitals, between December 19, 2016, and March 31, 2017, through 74 camps with the participation of 4,728 volunteers from engineering colleges and polytechnics.
The state government had sanctioned Rs 75 lakh for the programme. “We have repaired biomedical equipment to sewage treatment plant, painting, repairing of buildings, etc. Most of the equipment were discarded and dumped as useless and treated as waste due to minor complaints. NSS volunteers identified the errors, rectified and restored them,” said Abdul Jabbar Ahmad, programme coordinator. Government district hospital at Cheruthony in Idukki tops the hospitals where a majority of the equipment was repaired, worth Rs 3.13 crore.
“The volunteers had done a superb job. It should not be a one-time work and needs to be continued,” said Dr Nandini G., the Idukki hospital superintendent. Students were assigned to repair works which they are studying in various streams. “We had given prior training to them. Almost half of the volunteers were girls,” Mr Ahmad said. “Finance minister Thomas Issac had suggested promoting the programme into the level of annual maintenance contracting,” he added. Kozhikode general hospital former superintendent Dr A. Sabu told DC that Punarjani was a fantastic solution to the red-tapism and needs to be promoted in a big way.
