Srinagar: Grappling with fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the newly created Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir government Thursday said that it will conduct “a detailed inquiry” after reports of at least 5000 testing kits meant for supply to the Kashmir region were diverted to Jammu.
Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education department, JK UT, Atal Duloo said a detailed inquiry will be held to ascertain whether any testing kit meant for supply to Kashmir valley was diverted to Jammu.
“It is a matter of detailed inquiry as to which pack has gone where. Otherwise, there is no shortage of equipment or materials either in Kashmir or in Jammu. Our main concern is there should not be any shortage of any material to deal with Covid-19 pandemic,” Atal Duloo told ETV Bharat.
Reports said that 5000 testing kits meant for supply to Kashmir were diverted to Jammu after a senior doctor, Jitender Mehta, posted with Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole, asked to divert these kits to Jammu, which created shortage and testing was stopped.
Due to lockdown, airlines and other transport to Jammu and Kashmir are shut, the government receives essential consignments of testing kits and other medicine through special Air Force cargoes.
Duloo said that an Air Force cargo could not land in Kashmir so it landed in Jammu. “Maybe, some kits meant for Kashmir may have gone to Jammu or vice versa. But the supply has not stopped; neither has testing stopped in Kashmir,” he said, adding, “Kashmir will be doubly compensated if at all it has happened.”
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole told ETV Bharat that the reports indicting Jitender Mehta for diversion of testing kits to Jammu are “baseless”.
“Fact is that Dr Jitender Mehta or I have nothing to do with the procurement of medical supplies. It is all being done by Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation,” Pole told ETV Bharat.
In Jammu and Kashmir, 300 persons are infected by the deadly covid 19 virus, most of the cases are from Kashmir-246. Over 55000 people are in quarantine, yet the government has conducted over 4000 tests only.
Health experts said that the testing has to be expedited as the UT is grappling with the crisis and cases shot up with each passing day.
