State Health department is taking initiative to install a new elevator at the Central Medical Store (CMS) building on AJC Bose Road at Moulali after replacing an old one that had been lying defunct for quite sometimes.
The step was taken as the people working there had been facing lot of difficulties to take the cartons of medicines and other items to the first floor and then bringing them down for delivery to various hospitals. The new elevator will also help the pregnant women from Howrah who visit the CMS building as it houses the Howrah Drug Control and District Friendly Welfare Bureau (HDCDFW) for availing various government schemes.
The CMS authorities had urged the senior officials of the Swasthya Bhawan to replace the old defunct elevator as it is required to take the cartons of medicines and other important items upstairs and bring them downstairs after being tested at the store.
According to sources, the existing elevator had been lying defunct for more than a year causing serious inconveniences to people. Those who load and unload the medicines and other important items from the CMS building have to use the staircase and carry the cartons on their shoulders. Medicines, syringes and various other items were tested at the CMS before they were delivered to various places, including the district hospitals. As the third and the fourth floor of the building houses the HDCDFW, pregnant women coming from the district had to face lot of difficulties as they had to climb up the staircase to get to the third floor of the building.
A senior official of the CMS said that they had informed the matter to the Swasthya Bhawan urging them to take some steps in this regard. After considering the gravity of the situation, the health department has decided to install a new elevator in the place of the old one. It was learnt that the existing one could not be repaired as it had been lying defunct over a long time.
A senior health department official said that steps were taken to replace the defunct elevator with a new one. The work will be started soon in this regard.