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First creating hype, now clueless

Principal Health Secretary Jayanti Ravi refuses to comment on why the much-hyped Dhaman machines are lying unused in govt hosps, during her interaction with journalists in Lunavada in Mahisagar dist

Principal Secretary Health Jayanti Ravi refused to comment on the issue of Dhaman ventilators lying unused in government hospitals when journalists posed questions on Saturday, during her visit to Lunavada in Mahisagar district.



The Gujarat government had announced with much fanfare that the much-hyped Dhaman ventilators, manufactured in CM's hometown Rajkot, would prove a boon in fight against Covid-19 pandemic in the state. However, after Mirror published reports about inadequacies of the machines, the government stopped using them. At present the machines have been dumped in Civil Hospital complex in Ahmedabad.

On May 20, during a press conference, Jayanti Ravi had spoken for about 90 minutes justifying the use of Dhaman ventilators. Just 10 days later, on Saturday, she refused to answer media queries on the issue.

Jayanti Ravi and a team of health officials were on a visit to various hospitals in Mahisagar district where maximum nine cases of pregnant woman testing positive for Covid-19 have been reported. However, she did not meet the women patients despite visiting the hospital in Balasinor. Mahisagar has reported 71 active cases of Covid-19, including the nine pregnant women.


Talking about her visit, Mahisagar Collector R B Barad said, "Jayanti Ravi encouraged the medical team during her visit to Lunawada and visited the containment area where she interacted with people. Then she visited the Covid hospital in Balasinor. There also she interacted with the medical team."

When asked whether she met the nine pregnant women admitted to Covid hospital in Balasinor, he said, "Since they were in the Covid ward, she did not interact with them."

The state government data on the number of total reported cases from Mahisagar stands at 114 which includes figures of active and discharged cases. However, the district administration has quoted the figure of 120 cases. When Jayanti Ravi was asked about the discrepancy, she said, "There may be minor difference in the numbers as we count cases till 5 pm." She denied that the tally was being fudged or hidden.

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