The hospital has not even inquired the contractor- Sakura Nirman Sewa, which built it at a cost of Rs 4,500,000 - about the defective construction and is awaiting report from the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), which had inspected the building some eight months ago.[break]
“We could not bring the new ward into operation as the building had developed cracks,” said hospital Director Dr Tirtha Raj Burlakoti. “We want to know whether the problem is just external before communicating with the contractor,” he explained.
The hospital has written repeatedly to the DUDBC to submit its report, Burlakoti claimed, but has yet to get any response. “Without the report, we can neither bring the new building into operation nor can we ask the contractor to repair it,” he added.
|The DUDBC, however, seems to be least bothered about the matter. “The building should be inspected thoroughly before we reach a conclusion,” Senior Division Officer of the DUDBC Sagar Krishna Joshi, who was part of the team that inspected the building eight months ago, said.
Joshi said a separate committee should be formed for investigation. “The probe committee can submit its report within two weeks but the committee is yet to be formed,” Joshi said.
DUDBC Director Ashok Nath Uprety couldn´t be reached for comments.
The building is not the only structure owned by Kanti Hospital that remains unused. Its 100,000-liter overhead water tank, whose construction was completed four years ago, also remains unused. A hospital employee claimed the tank also has a big hole which has not been fixed.
Related story
Patients suffer due to lack of beds in Kanti Children's Hospita...
