Kharagpur: Some of IIT Kharagpur's former students have gifted the institution an ambulance, a gesture that stands out not as much for generosity as the lack of medical facilities on and around one of India's most celebrated campuses.
IIT students and employees badly needed an ambulance that can transport a critically ill patient because in most medical emergencies they have to rush to Calcutta, 130km away.
Among the former students who have donated the ambulance is Vinod Gupta, whose money helped his alma mater build one of India's foremost business schools, the Vinod Gupta School of Management.
The others included Ranbir Gupta, who runs his company in the US, Arjun Malhotra, chairman and CEO of the US-based TechSpan, and Asoke Deysarkar, CEO of the US-based PfP Technology.
Students had approached the IIT Kharagpur Foundation, US, in November for such an ambulance.
Vishal Singh, students' vice-president at the institute, said: "We had sent the proposal to the alumni as we felt that it was better to have an advanced ambulance that could take care of critically ill patients. It is crucial to provide the critical support while travelling long distances. The fleet of ambulances that we have are not that advanced. Unfortunately, the surroundings of the institute lacks quality health-care facilities."
The campus has a hospital which provides emergency and basic health care. Just outside the campus there are Kharagpur Sub-divisional Hospital and a hospital run by the South Eastern Railway.
Around 48km away, in Nayagram, the state government runs a multi-speciality hospital with 300 beds.
Besides, a teaching hospital being set up by the institute is set to become operational by next year.
The Rs 40-lakh ambulance that former students have donated to the institute is equipped with transport ventilator, defibrillator, syringe pump, suction pump, fully-regulated oxygen supply system, ECG monitor, and gadgets to monitor blood pressure, oxygen saturation in blood and respiratory and rates. It also has a foldable stretcher trolley.
The ambulance has dedicated batteries and alternators for uninterrupted power supply and air-conditioning.
Delhi-based alumnus Achin Juneja, engaged by the IIT Kharagpur Foundation, installed the gadgets in the ambulance.
"The patients need comfort and constant monitoring along with some uninterrupted emergency services during transit. We focused on these aspects while designing the interiors of the ambulance and the power supply," said Juneja, who had graduated in electronics engineering in 1972.
He consulted several doctors and superspeciality hospitals such as AIIMS, Medanta and Max to design the hospital.
"The initiative by the alumni to augment our fleet of ambulances is exemplary considering the time spent and technical expertise extended to custom design this ambulance," said Sriman Kumar Bhattacharya, deputy director of the institute.
