Siliguri: Lackadaisical attitude on the party of the authorities of North Bengal Dental College & Hospital on utilisation of funds has prompted Rudranath Bhattacharya, chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti of the college, to approach state health officials, requesting an inquiry to find out what has led to delay in using such funds meant for infrastructural development of the medical institution.

Bhattacharya, who held a meeting of the samiti on Wednesday, has sent a letter to the state health department in this regard.

"I came to know that a fund of Rs 20 lakhs that was sanctioned by the state for buying journals and books for students at NBDCH in the 2016-2017 fiscal, has returned unutilized as no step was taken by the authorities to buy those items. It was also learnt that the college gas received Rs 38 lakhs on January this year to buy different equipment to provide better healthcare to residents. But so far, no planning has been made to utilize the fund in an effective manner," said Bhattacharya.

If no proper plan is made - which include preparing a list of medical equipments which are required at the college - by March this year, it will also return back to the state like the earlier fund, he said.

Sources in the dental college said that a team from the Dental Council of India visited the college in on January and May last year. They had expressed dissatisfaction over present infrastructure of the college.

They had even hinted that if the college continued with such poor infrastructure, it might lose its affiliation, said the sources.

The students and junior doctors at NBDCH also sounded aggrieved. On Wednesday, they submitted a memorandum to Bhattacharya, mentioning that classes are irregular at the college, there is shortage of even basic furniture and medicines and the infrastructure in hostels is poor.

"It is surprising that a major infrastructural development project was taken five years back to give a facelift of the hospital. A detail project report for a five-storied building, with major and minor operation theatres, classrooms, seminar hall, x-ray and CT scan units and hostel, was prepared. But for unknown reasons, the project report was sent to the state for final approval only on January this year, said Bhattacharya.

It is because of such delays that he has decided to write to the health department.

Soumen Chakraborty, the principal of NBDCH, however, was not present on Wednesday. Sources said he is in leave.