HYDERABAD, July 17: The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company is putting pressure the Liaquat University Hospital administration to pay Rs180,000 for making alternative arrangements for of power to the hospital because the cost of material has been revised.

Hospital sources told Dawn on Monday that a communication had been received from Hesco about installation of poles and supply of power.

“It is great injustice because Hesco had been paid the required amount through demand note for about Rs400,000. And nor the hospital is being slapped with revised rates when the delay is on the part of Hesco and not the hospital”, said the source.

The hospital administration had submitted the demand note in early March and Hesco promised to provide alternate source of electricity connection but then power utility kept delaying the matter for no fault of the hospital management. The inspection was conducted by the construction department of Hesco and requirement of material was sent to the company as well.

It was learnt that material was not being issued to the construction section on the ground that the hospital administration would be pressed to pay the additional amount for the installation of dual power source.

The construction department decided to shift the old and new (dual source of electricity) to the Sarfaraz sub-division from the Hirabad sub-division of Hesco.

“The number of poles to be utilised and wires another material was estimated after repeated requests and then the matter remained in cold storage by Hesco”, said the source.

Source said that the hospital needed dual power source as early as possible because power breakdowns badly affected normal working of the hospital which has to shift its system to generators.

It leads to postponement of surgeries, in some cases very important cases are postponed to some other dates because all the operation theatres are air-conditioned.

Hesco is not installing a 250kva transformer in the hospital which is essential for making angiography machine operational.

The hospital has already paid its installation charges to Hesco yet it was being delayed.

“The angiography machine arrived but it is yet to be made operational” said a technician.

A Hesco spokesman told Dawn that material would be issued to the construction department for ensuring alternate source of electricity and installation of 250kva transformer.

He said that the hospital administration had paid the demand note for both these facilities.