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Dimapur, April 16 (EMN): Equipment for the Bio Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory to be set up at Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima arrived on Thursday via an Indian Air Force (IAF) “special flight” C-17 globemaster, according to a DIPR report.
The consignment for the BSL-2 lab in Dimapur is expected to arrive “very soon”, it reported.
The IAF aided in the transportation of equipment following a request from Governor RN Ravi to Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh.
‘The total consignment of 18 tonnes arrived from Mumbai with highly sophisticated equipment needed for BSL-3 to be established at NHAK, Kohima. Along with equipment, the technical team was also on board to set up the lab. The flight which was earlier scheduled on April 15 was delayed due to bad weather in Assam.
‘Considering the urgency of the lab needed by the Naga public, efforts were taken by IAF to use Bangladesh airspace through diplomatic channels but with bad weather moving east, it was cancelled, and it finally arrived on April 16,’ read the report.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio thanked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Delhi for issuing all the necessary clearances to set up its lab in Nagaland.
“Infrastructure and human resource to run the laboratory is in place. Additional personnel will be trained. Will ensure that the laboratory is functional at the earliest,” he wrote on Twitter.
According to the DIPR, in the past 15 days, the IAF has flown six dedicated missions carrying almost 40 tonnes of essential items to Nagaland, using the latest American C-17 globemaster, C130 J Super Hercules and Russian IL-76.