Odisha: 25 patients shifted as AIIMS wall cracks

The side wall of the unit, in a part of which a temporary operation theatre is also functioning, had developed cracks during the recent incessant rains.
One side wall of its casualty Trauma Care Unit subsided | EPS
One side wall of its casualty Trauma Care Unit subsided | EPS

BHUBANESWAR: Four years after inauguration of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), one side wall of its casualty Trauma Care Unit subsided forcing the hospital authorities to shift 25 patients to another Ward on Thursday. The side wall of the unit, in a part of which a temporary operation theatre is also functioning, had developed cracks during the recent incessant rains. Patients undergoing treatment were scared as the cracks grew wide on Wednesday night. Khurda Collector Nirmal Kumar Mishra and officials of Central Public Works Department (CPWD) visited the building and inspected the cracks.

Relative of a patient said though they had informed the AIIMS authorities that the patients were feeling unsafe due to the cracks on the wall, they did not take any step to shift the patients till the administration intervened. His concerns were also corroborated by an employee of the institution who said while water is leaking from roofs in several buildings inside the AIIMS campus, many lifts are not functioning since long. “Leakage of water in Radiotherapy Department, which houses sophisticated machine for radiation therapy, is now a concern.

The machines could not be operated for more than a week after the heavy rains last time. Since it is a bunker, extra care should have been taken during construction,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, the CPWD that had undertaken the construction work of AIIMS has submitted a detailed report on the cracks.

Admitting that the wall has developed cracks, AIIMS Director Gitanjali Batmanabane said the CPWD officials in their report have stated that some part of the soil underneath the structure settled causing the cracks. “It can be fixed by constructing a beam around it. The CPWD has assured that the repair work will be completed in a month. Patients have been shifted for the repair work to be done on a war-footing,” she told reporters. The Director also informed that she would get the cracks and other structural issues, if any, investigated by a team of experts from IIT Bhubaneswar.

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