KMC’s latest: awards dengue test contract to an ill-equipped laboratory

Interestingly,the civic body has over 130 laboratories of its own situated all across the city. Lacking proper infrastructure,these laboratories can carry out only malaria tests.

Stating that its laboratories don’t have adequate facilities to conduct dengue tests,the KMC had earlier floated the idea of referring patients to other laboratories for getting their tests done.

The School of Tropical Medicine (STM) is the only centre run by the state where dengue tests are conducted. Apart from the STM,most of the private laboratories in the city possess ELISA readers and conduct such tests.

However,after the state health department asked the KMC to set up infrastructure for dengue tests,the latter outsourced the work to a private laboratory without floating any tender.

Adding to it,the civic authorities decided to pay the diagnostic laboratory Rs 1 lakh per year and another Rs 1,500 for each patient referred to it without consulting the board of councillors (BOC).

“The civic body decided to appoint a private diagnostic centre despite the proposal from the STM to carry out dengue tests for free,” said a senior health official.

“The STM authorities had put only one condition: it wanted the KMC staff to bring them the blood samples. But KMC officials turned down the proposal citing staff shortage,” the official added.

“Despite objections raised by several senior health officials of the KMC,the matter was cleared at the mayor-in-council meeting,” said another civic official.

“The fact that tenders would not be floated and the diagnostic centre would be appointed directly was cleared at the mayor-in-council meeting,” the official added.

Joint Municipal Commissioner (Development) Sahidul Islam refused to comment on why the civic body awarded the contract to a private laboratory that lacks infrastructure to conduct such tests.

He,however,added: “We are yet to issue a work order. We have only handed over the contract. We will issue the work order after the laboratory has the necessary infrastructure for conducting dengue tests.”