The revelation that as many as 877 ventilators have become defunct across Jammu and Kashmir is a serious indictment of the way critical health infrastructure is being managed in the Union Territory. Of this alarming number, 111 ventilators are reported to be lying unused at Government Medical College Jammu alone. These figures, disclosed in the Legislative Assembly in response to a question raised by Shamima Firdous, expose a disturbing reality that cannot be brushed aside as a mere technical lapse.
These ventilators were procured during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis through the PM CARES Fund, when the country was racing against time to save lives. At that moment, ventilators symbolised hope, preparedness and the resolve of the health system. Today, seeing hundreds of those very machines lying defunct reflects not the failure of technology, but the failure of governance, planning and post-procurement management in J&K.
The explanation that the requirement of ventilators reduced after the COVID wave subsided is both inadequate and alarming. As stated by the Principal of GMC Jammu, Ashutosh Gupta, the institution currently has ventilators equal to the number of beds and does not face any immediate shortage. However, healthcare planning cannot be driven only by present demand. Ventilators are life-saving equipment for critical care, trauma cases, respiratory illnesses and accident victims. Declaring them “unnecessary” after a crisis only reveals the absence of a long-term vision for emergency preparedness.
More worrying is the reason cited for such a massive number of machines turning defunct. According to the Medical Employees Federation Jammu and Kashmir, improper maintenance and the lack of a timely and structured technical support system led to the deterioration of these vital machines. Its chairman, Sushil Sudan, has clearly pointed out that had regular technical inspections and maintenance schedules been in place, such a large-scale failure could have been avoided.
The issue also raises serious questions about outsourcing and accountability. The responsibility of maintaining biomedical equipment had reportedly been handed over to a private company. Subsequent disputes and administrative confusion resulted in neglect of essential machines. In a health system where resources are limited and public hospitals remain overburdened, allowing expensive and critical equipment to decay due to contractual and bureaucratic lapses is unacceptable.
This crisis is not merely about broken machines; it is about broken systems. It highlights the absence of a centralised asset management policy for medical equipment in J&K, weak monitoring mechanisms and poor coordination between health institutions and maintenance agencies.
The demand for a comprehensive audit of all ventilators supplied under emergency procurement, particularly those funded during the pandemic, is therefore fully justified. A UT-wide technical assessment, responsibility fixation and creation of a robust biomedical maintenance framework are urgently needed.
Jammu and Kashmir cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the pandemic years. Public health infrastructure must be protected with the same urgency with which it was created. Otherwise, the next emergency will once again find the system unprepared—despite having once owned the very tools required to save lives.
