New Delhi, September 9
The Quality Council of India (QCI) has warned the Delhi Government against declaring non-accredited government hospitals as nodal health facilities for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

The state government has already declared Ram Manohar Lohia and GB Panth Hospitals, both lacking National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) accreditation, as nodal centres for the Games; this despite stiff resistance from the QCI, India’s autonomous quality watchdog under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. AIIMS, also non-accredited, is another healthcare facility for the Games.

The Tribune has learnt that QCI Secretary-General Giridhar J Gyani, in a recent letter to the Delhi Government, said the state should only empanel accredited facilities for the Games even if that meant getting private hospitals on board.

He argued that India would not be able to defend itself at any international forum if anything went wrong during treatment (at a facility that lacks accreditation) of any athlete during the Games. When contacted, Gyani admitted he had forewarned the government and recommended that any of the 13 accredited private hospitals in the national capital region could be asked to reserve beds for the Games.

“This is a national event and we should not be taking chances with quality issues. Both RML and GB Panth have applied for NABH accreditation but have not yet received it. AIIMS is a great and credible institution but it has no accreditation. The government should go in for benchmarked hospitals as nodal centres for the Games just to ensure it is technically on the safest possible footing. This is about larger national interest. Here public versus private issues should not arise,” Gyani told TNS.

The QCI has not heard from the Delhi Government since it flagged the issue.

Chandigarh, September 9
With lakhs of people, including a large number of foreigners, expected to converge on Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, the Union Home Ministry has issued a nationwide alert to various enforcement agencies to keep an eye on the activities of drug peddlers and pushers in a bid to control the inflow of the contraband into the Capital. As Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are known routes for smuggling of drugs and are considered a haven for pedlars, officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are working overtime to ensure a check on the activities of the contraband dealers.

Confirming the move, a senior official of the NCB told The Tribune here that an advisory had been received from the Home Ministry and all Intelligence officers had been issued instructions in this regard. The official said it was usually observed that during such mega events when a lot of foreigners come, drug pushing becomes a “lucrative” trade, leading to increased smuggling. “We have Intelligence tip-offs to the effect and are closely watching the areas bordering Pakistan in Punjab and also the Kullu and Manali area from where drugs come in large quantities,” he said.

Sources said the advisory from the ministry had been received a couple of days ago and the Intelligence staff had been asked to revive their informers in the trade as well as maintain coordination with police officials in both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Intelligence officials confirm that there are overactive drug pedlars in the region and a few of the “key” ones deal in large quantities of drugs. Intelligence officials are keeping an eye on Kullu and Manali, which are known for Malana grass. According to reports, the Kullu police has arrested more than 100 foreigners in drug-related cases in the last six years. Malana grass was taken as the substance of abuse by many of the arrested due to its cheap cost.

Malana hashish is reportedly being smuggled to European countries and owing to its high moisture content, it fetches a high price in the international market.

The drug gets its name from an isolated hamlet in Kullu valley called Malana. The economy of the village virtually thrives on the homegrown contraband and several attempts of the administration to wean the people away from its cultivation have proved futile.