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Patna: Nalanda Hospital flooded with rainwater, fish swim inside ICU

Patna: Nalanda Hospital flooded with rainwater, fish swim inside ICU

By Shalini Ojha
Jul 30, 2018
12:08 pm
What's the story

The patients undergoing treatment at Patna's Nalanda Medical College Hospital were given company by fishes, after ICU and general wards got flooded by rainwater. The visuals, which highlight the state's failure in more ways than one, showed patients lying on beds with the floor full of rainwater. What's more shocking is that this is a persistent problem every year, and yet no action was taken.

The condition

Patient's relative caught fish to show it to doctor

The hospital beds were in two-feet deep water, with fishes swimming around. Hospital essentials like syringes and bandages also floated. The nurses had to brave waters to cater to the patients, unsurprisingly some families decided against getting their kins treated there. A relative of a patient said he caught a fish and showed it to a doctor, but the latter pleaded helplessness.

The woes

Not only patients, even doctors are braving waters

Dr Ravi Ranjan Kumar Raman, president of the Junior Doctors Association, said even doctors were facing problems both at the hospital and in their hostels. "The mess of our hostel No. 2 has been closed due to waterlogging. We are somehow arranging food from outside. The old hostel's roof also collapsed last night at around 2 PM," he revealed.

Twitter Post

Believe it or not: This is a hospital

The problem

It's a recurring problem, can't do much, officials say

NMCH president, Anand Prasad Singh said this happened every year as the hospital was located in the low-lying area. They were trying to pump out the water, he said, and the process would easily take two-three days. He said they sprinkled bleaching powder in water. Singh said some patients were shifted to another care unit after attendants complained of a foul smell from water.

Quote

Have no option, can shift patients to another hospital: Singh

"We have given the patients an option to move to Patna Medical College Hospital if they want and we will provide them with an ambulance. We have no other options," Singh said and added they were in talks with Patna Municipal Corporation.

The action

To reduce water levels, here's what authorities are doing

Sushil Kumar Mishra, an official at the PMC, said the public health engineering department provided two motors to pump the water out, but one of them broke down. The hospital has been asked to arrange an alternate motor, he added. "The waterlogging situation has happened in the hospital due to not having drainage outside the hospital. The drains had been covered," he explained.

Details

Meanwhile, health minister evades question, Tejashwi Yadav slams government

While the hospital remained submerged, Bihar's health minister Mangal Pandey attended a function in Shimla. When reporters asked him to comment on the situation, he evaded it. Meanwhile, leader of the opposition, Tejashwi Yadav tweeted: ICU of NMCH is swimming in drain water, fishes seen in ICU. Mind you, you can't question Nitish Kumar as his conscience is fast asleep and snoring with BJP.

Twitter Post

This is Nitish Kumar's model of development, tweets Tejashwi Yadav