High court gives state 1 week to repair ventilators amid surge
JODHPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Friday asked the state government to repair ventilators in a week, while hearing a PIL that states that many ventilators are lying in hospitals as they have not been repaired.
Petitioner Parikshit Khoror had filed a PIL stating that 43 ventilators are not being used for Covid patients at the main hospital in Sirohi district.
During the hearing in the division bench of Chief Justice Inderjit Mohanty and Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur, Rajasthan additional advocate general (AAG) Karan Singh Rajpurohit told the court that out of 43 ventilators in the Sirohi hospital, only 5 have been made operational and rest are being in the process of being repaired. He said the operational ventilators are fulfilling the demands of the hospitals in the present circumstances.
“The submissions made by the AAG are unacceptable and it is strongly observed that all 43 ventilators in Sirohi Hospital must be repaired and put to use immediately not later than two days from today. It is also brought to our notice by counsel for the petitioner that in other districts also the ventilators are lying unused and in a state of disrepair. The same amounts to wastage of huge public money,” the bench observed.
“In the circumstances, the respondents are directed to immediately take recourse for getting the unused ventilators repaired and made operational at the earliest not later than one week. The outcome of such exercise shall be placed on record by filing an affidavit before this court by the secretary, medical & health department before the next date,” the court ordered.
The court has set May 17 as the next date of hearing.
Hearing a petition filed by Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma said the Central government should take steps to allow oxygen concentrators to be purchased either at its own level or at the state level or even by the private persons or stakeholders so that the oxygen scarcity can be meted out.