LARKANA, Dec 29 The government`s project to purchase magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and computerised tomography (CT) scanners for Larkana`s Chandka Medical College Hospital, Karachi Civil Hospital, Nawabshah`s People`s Medical College Hospital and Hyderabad`s Liaquat University Hospital has run into snags due to fluctuation in exchange rate of the US dollar, according to sources.

The sources in the health department told Dawn on Monday that former secretary of health Prof Dr Noshad A. Shaikh had given a go-ahead to the Rs564 million project whose cost would be borne equally by federal and provincial governments.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council had approved the project in its April 22, 2006 meeting and the funds had been released in 2007-08, the sources said.

The department had so far received offers from Siemens, Philips, G.E and Toshiba and prepared an evaluation report, which was pending approval by Sindh health minister, the sources said.

Unexpected fluctuation in the exchange rate of US dollar had caused delay in approval of the project as the bidders were pressing for issuance of work order according to current market value of US dollar while the government insisted on dollar`s rate when the bidders had submitted offers, the sources said.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was informed during a recent visit that the Sindh Health Department was delaying finalisation of the project and he had assured of removing the bottlenecks, the sources said.

The MRI is a fairly new technique for taking pictures of almost all the tissues in the body while CT scanner produces cross section of body images of internal structures to study complicated cases.

The managers of the CMCH have already allocated land and constructed a new building for installing the machines. For the time being the hospital refers the patients in need of MRI and CT scans to Karachi to localise disorder in the body.The provision of the machines has become all the more important, especially after Sindh Assembly have passed a bill for the establishment Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical University in Larkana. The government plans to purchase 200 acres on Larkana-Karachi road for the proposed university.

KIDNAPPING One Abdul Ghafoor Brohi, a livestock trader, was kidnapped late on Sunday night when he was going to Bakrani on a motorcycle on the airport road in the limits of Bakrani police station.

The kidnappers later phoned his relatives and demanded ransom for his release, the sources said.