ZPM seeks PM's intervention for installation of another RT-PCR machine in Mizoram

Mizoram's main opposition party Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for the installation of another RT-PCR machine in the state to ramp up COVID testing amid a rising number of cases.

The northeastern state has only one RT-PCR machine installed at Zoram Medical College in Aizawl and TrueNat machines in 10 other districts.

The party, in a letter to the prime minister on Monday, said that an RT-PCR machine was donated by a Congress legislator in June last year for installation in south Mizoram's Lunglei district but the state administration has not yet given permission for it.

The ZPM alleged that the installation has been deliberately delayed by the state government due to ''political interests'', without further elaborating on it, while official sources claimed that the delay was due to infrastructural requirements and want of completion of formalities.

The party said that despite being the state's largest district and an important trade hub, Lunglei has only one TrueNat machine which severely hinders the rate of testing.

It said that installation of the RT-PCR machine will not only benefit Lunglei but also neighbouring districts.