Srinagar: The J&K government has floated an emergency tender seeking personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare professionals to address a shortage of necessary gear for doctors treating Covid-19 patients in the region.
According to tender documents, J&K needs 1 lakh PPE kits which include coveralls and goggles, N-95 masks, nitrile gloves, face shield and triple-layer surgical masks among other items.
Officials told Kashmir Reader that the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL) which is the central procurement agency to purchase medicines, consumables and equipment for the government-run hospitals, has issued an emergency online tenders for 100,000 PPE kits on Monday (April 27).
The last date for receipt of online bids is April 28 and dealers are bound to start the supply of the necessary gear within one week.
“There is shortage of protective gears in our hospitals, companies are also not able to give bulk orders. So, we have issued short term tenders for 1 lakh PPE kits and asked the dealers to supply at least 10,000 of them till May 1,” Managing Director of JKMSCL, Dr Yashpal Sharma told Kashmir Reader.
The corporation was recently in the centre of criticism in J&K as doctors and other healthcare workers weren’t impressed at the speed with which it has been moving.
Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) had also asked the government to float tenders on a war footing and said the delay in getting protective equipment puts healthcare workers at great risk.
Kashmir Reader has also carried a story last week which revealed that Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar has rejected the PPE kits sent by JKMSCL as it failed the quality tests.
Following the controversy, Shiv Kumar Gupta, the former MD was replaced by Dr Yashpal Sharma who headed the corporation at the inception.

Manzoor ul-Hassan