Machine with 'health risk' found at Darjeeling District Hospital

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 2 July 2024, Darjeeling: The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has started an inquiry after telecommunication equipment with "potential health risk" was found in- stalled inside the Darjeeling district hospital building "without taking proper per- mission" from the competent authorities.

Sources said Rajesh Chauhan, deputy chairman, GTA Sabha, who is looking into the administrative affairs of the Darjeeling district hospital, came across the distributed antenna system (DAS) for mobile service operators beside the office issuing birth and death certificates on the hospital's fourth floor. Chauhan was inspecting the building on June 24.

"I enquired about the equipment but I did not receive a satisfactory answer. Hence, I wrote to the principal secretary (GTA) apprising him of the situation. The officer visited the hospital on June 27 for an inspection," said Chauhan.

DAS enhances the signals. 

Questions are, however, being raised about how the equipment was installed on the hospital premises and the people involved in authorising the same.

Soumya Purkait, principal secretary, GTA, in a letter to Space Tele Pvt Limited, which is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, on June 28 flagged several anomalies in the installation process.

The GTA official stated that the equipment was in- stalled on December 16, 2020, without approval from competent authorities and that the memorandum of understanding has been "executed in a plain paper".

"The pinpoint location/ schedule of property under contract for installation is also missing," the letter states.

The GTA states that the MoU between the company and "District Hospital Darjeeling" for a period of 15 years cannot be considered a legal one but "illegal and perverse in eyes of the law".

Many are surprised that the irregularities were discovered four years after its installation.

"The hospital infrastructure like generator, security was being used for this equipment of private agencies. A thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the installation of the equipment should be con- ducted and the investigation should determine how the installation was authorised and by whom," said Chauhan. There is no clarity on any financial agreement between the private agency and the hospital for setting up the equipment.

Purkait has also stated that "the potential health risks associated with prolonged exposure to waves emitted by such equipment are well-documented".

"Given the presence of patients and staff in a hospital environment, the continued operation of this equipment poses a significant safety concern," stated Purkait and has asked the private company to remove the equipment within seven days.

The Telegraph reached out to Space Tele Infra representatives who stated that they were asked to install the equipment during the Covid- 19 pandemic in 2020.

"In 2020, during Covid-19, Dr Kumar of the Darjeeling hospital told us connectivity was an issue and patients, too, were facing problems at the hospital. Based on his email, we installed the equipment but he refused to sign the MoU," said Abhijit Kumar Prasad, a representative of Space Tele whose number was found in the MOU.

When contacted Dr Kumar S, refused to acknowledge that he had made the request through an email. "In fact, I was the one to protest when the equipment was being installed then," the doctor told this newspaper.

Courtesy & source- The Telegraph