Hyderabad, March 14: Next time you visit any government hospital in the twin cities, you may have to carry bottled water with you! The major government run hospitals in the city are facing acute water shortage with it also affecting medical procedures in some hospitals.
With the day temperature shooting up since the past 10 days, water tanks located in government hospitals including Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Osmania General Hospital (OGH) and Gandhi General Hospital (GGH) have dried up, forcing patients to buy bottled water and satchets from private vendors at higher prices.
“What can we do? There has been no drinking water facility since the past one week. Most of the people purchase bottled water or water packets for patients. They (private vendors) charged Rs 20 per 1 litre bottled water and Rs 5 per water packet,” sais Yadamma, attendant at the Gandhi General Hospital.
Apart from drinking water facility, various medical services also face the threat of disruption due to water shortage at NIMS and GGH.
Alarmed at the water crisis, the managements of both hospitals have decided to take up the matter with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to ensure regular supplies to the institutions during summer. Dr E A Ashok Kumar, superintendent of GGH said that hospitals need water every day, especially in dialysis wards, operation theatres and kitchens. “We have written a letter to the GHMC officials.
As of now, we are maintaining all medical services but we require additional water supply during the summer season for both medical and drinking water purposes. We are depending on GHMC’s assistance in supplying additional water tankers to the hospital,” the doctor said.
At present, as many as 700 beds in the 1600-bed hospital are occupied and doctors expect more admissions in summer due to seasonal diseases. The hospital requires about 15 lakh litres of water per day with the requirement likely to go up in summer.
The situation is no different at NIMS and OGH with the patients angry over the prevailing situation.
“The hospital authorities told us that the water supplies are being rationed and if we needed more, we have to get it from outside,” said S Lakshmamma, relative of a patient from Karimnagar district. Meanwhile, Dr K R Sampath, superintendent of OGH said there was no water scarcity at the hospital and that they would get additional water tanks from the water board if needed in future.
–Agencies