With the onslaught of the recent wave of Covid-19, the existing medical facilities are under a lot of strain.
Amid the crisis of this magnitude, 290 ventilators are lying packed in the warehouses of the Punjab government.
These ventilators were provided by the Union government last year.
Chandigarh-based newspaper The Tribune reported this on March 20.
The reason for not using these ventilators was stated as the lack of demand from medical colleges and hospitals and the lack of skilled manpower to handle these ventilators.
The cost of these ventilators is estimated to be INR 20-30 crores.
If used, these ventilators could have saved many lives.
In a recent interview to NDTV, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh blamed the Union government for not providing the state enough resources to fight the pandemic.
But, Singh did not explain why such a vital resource was lying unused.
Singh is the chief minister of Punjab since March 2017.
