Major vendors who provide oxygen to government hospitals in Assam have threatened to stop its supply from March 20 if the pending dues are not cleared.
This was stated by the vendors in a letter to the Director of Medical Education (DME).
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In the letter, it was stated that Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) is yet to clear an amount of Rs 2.53 crore to Meghalaya Oxygen Private Limited (MOPL).
MOPL has also not received an amount if Rs 69 lakh from Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital, Barpeta.
Payment for about a year has also not been received by Premier Cryogenics Limited. The GMCH is to pay an amount of Rs 2.26 crore to PCL, the letter further added.
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In the letter, another firm said that it was not possible for them to survive with such a huge credit.
“We are incurring expenditure on diesel, salary, wages, electricity, chemicals, etc,” the firm said in their letter to the DME.
There are around five vendors in Assam who supply medical gases, mainly oxygen, to the hospitals.
While smaller government hospitals clear dues on time, private hospitals make a monthly payment.
A vendor, in its letter, further said that they don’t face problems with the smaller hospitals as these hospitals make the payments regularly.
“We have been requesting the government to clear the dues for the last two-three months. The government, however, has paid no heed to our requests,” the vendor said in its letter to DME.
“In such a situation, we will not be able to continue the supply of oxygens from March 20,” the vendor added.
In GMCH, around 250 patients including 100 infants survive on medical oxygen daily.