Multan Institute of Cardiology’s PC-1 revised

MULTAN, Aug 30, 2003: The PC-1 (planning commission) for the Multan Institute of Cardiology has been revised to be presented before the provincial planning and development division for final approval.

The P&D department had raised certain objections to the PC-1 prepared by the management of the Nishtar Medical College and Hospital for the MIC, which included justification for the need to acquire two angiography machines and an ice cream plant.

However, the provincial government has recently appointed a full-time project director, Dr Naeem Tareen, at the MIC to carry out the project, which is the second of its kind in the province (after Lahore’s Punjab Institute of Cardiology).

Presenting the PC-1 contents to the P&D department officials the other day, Dr Tareen defended the proposal of acquiring two angiography machines for the MIC. He, however, agreed to the department’s objection to the demand of installation of an ice cream plant at the hospital.

Talking to Dawn on telephone from Lahore, Dr Tareen said, the cardiology institute in Multan, in fact, required four angioplasty machines in the long run. Initially, two machines would do, he added.

He said he had served as a cardiologist in the US for the most part of his professional life, but never seen an ice cream plant installed at any of the cardiology hospitals there.

The provincial health department, Dr Tareen said, had formally taken over possession of the Multan’s former commissioner’s house to build the proposed MIC over there. He said the old building structure of the house would have to be demolished to accommodate the MIC building in line with its architectural plan.

He said he knew the historical significance of the old structure of the commissioner’s house, which was once known as the Shish Mahal of Nawab Muzaffar Khan. “But architects are of the view that the MIC, according to its specifications, cannot be built without demolishing the old structure,” he added.

Dr Tareen said he had immediately demanded Rs10 million from the government to be able to pay fees of the consultants and spend on other initial works needed to gear up the project. Eight officials of the Nishtar Hospital had been deputed at the MIC to carry out the paper work and fulfil other requisites during its construction.

Dispelling the impression that he was alien to Multan, the MIC project director said: “Some people having vested interests aired rumours against me, even though I used to be the president of the Nishtar Alumni in the US.”