NEW DELHI: Taking note of the water contamination issue at the resident doctors’ hostels, the AIIMS here has decided to make a few changes that are expected to provide relief to the medicos, who complained of getting live adult worms, larvae, and insects in the water supply.
The institute has decided to first address the water woes at the hostel in Trauma Center Campus, which was most affected by the recurring issue, officials told this newspaper. “We will install an RO water system having a capacity of 50 litres in the kitchen area of the Trauma Centre hostel. Besides, a new pipeline connecting the overhead tank and the mess will be installed,” a senior official said.
The development has come after this newspaper reported on the issue on Friday. The doctors had complained of the water contamination that was being used by mess workers for cooking and washing. During a visit to the hostel, this correspondent had also noted that no water filter was installed in the kitchen.
The official said that the new pipeline is expected to resolve the issue of worms and insects entering the water supply. The decisions were taken in a meeting on Saturday after senior officials from the institute’s Engineering Department inspected the hostel.
“The worms and insects were not found at the source. We think that they may have entered the supply line, which is underground and beneath the walls, through some leakages. We hope the new pipeline will resolve the issue,” the official added.
Meanwhile, a separate water pipeline will also be attached to the RO filter systems installed at each floor of the hostel.The officials also saidb that water samples from the hostel will be collected for testing by the hospital infection control board to check the level of contamination since the hostel doesn’t come under the purview of the Department of Microbiology. The exercise will be done periodically, they added.
Dr Jaswant Jangra, president of the Resident Doctors Association, welcomed the decision. However, he said that the hostel administration should have been proactive in resolving such matters. The RDA had written to the AIIMS director last week raising the issue of spotting worms and other insects in hostels’ water supply since October and called it “a serious health hazard that should be treated as a medical emergency.”
TRAUMA CENTRE MESS TO GET 50-LTR RO
The institute will first address the issue at the hostel in Trauma Center, which was the most affected, officials said. “We will install an RO water system having a capacity of 50 litres in the kitchen of the Trauma Centre hostel. A new pipeline connecting the tank and mess will be installed,” an official said.