Ahmedabad's Ventilator Controversy- Know the true story here-

Come what may, targeting the BJP government and its leaders has become a trend these days! Whatever happens, blame the ruling government or trail unncessary connections that help drag the BJP leaders down. Similar to that of what the famous liberal newsline 'The Wire' did to the Gujarat government in case of the Dhaman-I ventilators controversy.

 

The story published by 'The Wire' states that the current and former promoters of Ahmedabad’s largest COVID-19 hospital have had close associations with top BJP leaders and that the leaders promoted Dhaman-I ventilators aggressively even after these ventilators were proved so inadequate when used on COVID-19 patients.

 

 

“Luckily, until now, we used these ventilators [made by Jyoti CNC] on very few occasions, as high-end ventilators were available with us in enough numbers. Dhaman-1 is not a good replacement for high-end ventilators, but it can be used in dire emergency when you have nothing else at hand,” it quoted Civil Hospital head of anaesthesia Shailesh Shah.

The PIB Fact check on Friday, rubbished off the claims and quotes by copy writer Rohini Singh on 'The Wire' in the case of Dhaman-I controversay saying that the complete researech is fake. "According to Govt of Gujarat,the said ventilators were not purchased but donated and are based on required medical standards", the PIB fact check said as against Rohini's claim that the Dhaman-I ventilators at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital are substandard and were purchased.

The state governmnet had earlier cleared that the ventilators are certified by an accredited laboratory and fit to use. "The 'Dhaman-1' ventilators were developed by Rajkot-based firm Jyoti CNC which had donated 866 of them to the state government last month in view of the acute shortage of such equipment", said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi. 'Dhaman-1' ventilators are as good as other such machines. They are certified by a Centrally accredited laboratory, the senior bureaucrat told reporters in Gandhinagar. Responding to the allegations over its quality and alleged violation of norms, Ravi had said since a ventilator is not a drug formulation, it does not require any approval from the DCGI.

 

"Instead of creating a controversy, we should appreciate Jyoti CNC for coming forward at a time when there was an acute shortage of ventilators to treat coronavirus patients. This machines were put to use only after receiving the performance and safety certificate from EQDC following intensive testing," Ravi said.

 

The Electronics and Quality Development Centre (EQDC) is a laboratory approved by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Even Puducherry (administration) and the Maharashtra government have expressed their interest in purchasing 'Dhaman-1'. We have also learned that the Centre, through a nodal agency, placed an order to purchase 5,000 Dhaman 1 ventilators.