Oxygen plant question at assembly, MLA delighted by reply

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Oxygen plant question at assembly, MLA delighted by reply

Tura: “Does not arise”. This was the answer given to a question posed by the MLA from Dadenggre, Rupa Marak, when he sought information regarding the exact cost of the oxygen plant set up in his constituency, Jengjal.

“It is really amusing that this was the answer given to my question. I had tried to put forward this question during the Assembly session that concluded yesterday but this did not make it to the final list of questions in ‘Question Hour’, despite the matter being of such an urgent nature,” said Rupa Marak.

Marak asked as to what ‘does not arise’ meant and whether the oxygen plants were actually paid for through someone’s pockets or from a scheme of the government.

“If it was paid for by some private individual, we would be more than happy to thank him/her for their generosity.

If it was paid for by the state through our schemes, ‘does not arise cannot be an answer. We need accountability and for these plants to be fully functional,” said the Dadenggre MLA.

8 oxygen plants, including one in Jengjal, were set up in Garo Hills across five districts. Unfortunately, none of these plants are operational despite more than three years passing since their inauguration or construction.

These plants were constructed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase oxygen supply to Civil Hospitals and CHCs. If operational, they could have fulfilled nearly 100% of oxygen requirements in some districts and approximately 30-40% at Tura Civil Hospital, the region’s major hospital.

Marak raised five inquiries concerning the oxygen plants, with the additional query regarding the plants’ status, oxygen usage, quantity, and recurring expenses.

The response received for all five questions was uniformly negative and deemed irrelevant with responses like “does not arise”.

“We all know it is not functional but then why is it not functional? The plants form a critical part of the upgrade of our medical infrastructure of the state and particularly of the Garo Hills region.

They have been trying to evade answering my questions despite this being so critical in nature,” he added.

 

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