KOCHI: Mayor Soumini Jain on Wednesday came down heavily on the state government for its laxity towards the multi-speciality veterinary hospital at Brahmapuram. Jain said despite the project being touted as a model institute that can inspire other local bodies to follow suit, the state government has turned a blind eye towards the Corporation's request to appoint doctors in the hospital. “The Corporation has made several requests with the Secretary, LSG Department, to provide two permanent doctors for the hospital, as it has emerged as a model project. But our repeated requests have not been taken seriously.
If an experienced doctor is appointed permanently, it can inspire other local bodies to take the project up,” Jain said at the council meeting. “Earlier, the government appointed two doctors on deputation from the Animal Husbandry Department. But they were repatriated. At present, only one doctor is working at the hospital. Since it is a model project, other local bodies can learn a lot for implementing it in their areas. The government should appoint experienced doctors else the project will fail,” Jain said.
So far, about 3,648 canines in the Corporation went under the knife – a noteworthy figure considering the fact fellow local self-governing bodies across the state don't even have the statistics to show what they have done on this front.
The Corporation set up a hospital spending `1.2 crore, setting aside `40 lakh towards its operating cost. The air-conditioned surgery room started functioning with all facilities, including five operating tables, two doctors, four veterinary surgeons and four assistants.