KARIMNAGAR: Imagine this. There is not a drop of water to drink or even for other chores in the 350-bedded district headquarters hospital at Karimnagar. The hospital always has more than its capacity of patients and their attendants apart from the 700-odd patients who visit the hospital for Out-Patient services. With the advent of summer, the woes of patients and their attendants are compounded as hospitals face acute drinking water shortage.
Seven borewells were dug few years back but five of them went dry and the remaining two are functioning. They do not cater to the hospital needs and the only other alternative is the water tankers being supplied by the Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar.
The Jaladhara Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant, which was installed to provide drinking water at Re 1 for two litres, remains non-functional.
``There is no guarantee that water comes in the washrooms or in the washing area,'' an elderly woman walking out of the hospital with a empty water bottle told Express. One can see unclean washrooms and women and male attendants walking with empty water bottles and cans to fetch water from outside the hospital premises. This, however, comes at a premium for the poor patients who have to come to the `sarkari dawakhana' for minor or major ailments.
Take the case of P Odemma of Bompalli in Peddapalli district, who got her son admitted in the government hospital. She woke up in the early hours to brush her teeth but there was no water in any of the washrooms. She tried water from the drinking water tap but she could not get a drop of it.
A Suman from Jammikunta mandal, who admitted his mother about 10 days ago, said he had to spend a minimum of Rs 20 daily for the past 10 days for buying water bottles. Even the cooking agency that supplies food to the patients at the hospital also depend on municipal water tankers.
When contacted, Resident Medical Officer Dr K Sridhar told Express that they have already approached the civic body for converting the existing tap connection into an uninterrupted supply line. ``We are hoping that they consider our representation and provide 24-hour water supply to the hospital,'' he said.
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I had to wait till 9 am for the kirana store outside the hospital to open and buy a water bottle by paying Rs 20
P Odemma, attendant of a patient
Feel the pinch
The water needs of the hospital are met by the two functional borewells and water tankers being supplied by the Municipal corporation of Karimnagar. The patients and their attendants have to buy water bottles at Rs 20 per bottle, which is a burden on them. The Jaladhara RO plant, which was installed to provide water at Re 1 for two litres, remains non-functional.