AIIMS. (File Photo)
NEW DELHI: After the food quality and hygiene issue, resident doctors at the AIIMS have reported another issue that is waiting to turn into a major health hazard.The doctors complained of live adult worms, larvae, and insects have been being in water supply at their hostels, particularly at the Trauma Center campus of the institute.
“The water we use is contaminated to such an extent that we avoid utilising it. Live worms and other insects get collected at the bottom of our buckets when filled with tap water,” resident a doctor said.The claims of water contamination matched the situation when this correspondent reached the Trauma Center hostel to verify. It was found that the same water was being used in the kitchen of the mess situated, which caters to over 60 resident doctors who are accommodated here.
“From washing vegetables to cooking them and even doing dishes, the same water is used. We have stopped eating from this mess,” a group of doctors claimed. No RO filter was spotted in the cooking area. However, water filters were situated in the dining room.
When asked the resident doctors association (RDA) of the institute, the members said that the water contamination issue exists at different levels across the hostels, but the residents residing at the new hostels situated at the Masjid Moth complex are the most affected.
“Many residents (doctors) from hostels here often complain of a foul odour emanating from the water. They also tend to have gastrointestinal difficulties due to this,” a senior member said.Dr Jaswant Jangra, RDA president, said that a few measures, like cleaning of water tanks, were taken after the complaint but they didn’t improve the situation. He also informed that water samples were sent to Department of Microbiology for testing.
The RDA recently wrote a letter on December 28 to the institute’s director raising this matter. The letter, citing a microbiological testing report, stated that the examination found the water “unfit for consumption.”
A source said that in an analysis by the Department of Microbiology last year, water contamination was found in hostels at the institute’s Majid Moth Campus as well as at the Centre for Dental Education and Research (CDER).
