The authorities of Government Rajaji Hospital here have asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to carry out repair works at several wards in the hospital following complaints of water seepage in the wards during the heavy rains last week.
Hospital authorities said the water that accumulated on the terrace started seeping into the wards. Blockages at various blocks of the GRH resulted in leakage of rainwater from the roof.
Blaming the PWD staff for the negligence in carrying out regular maintenance work, a senior official at the GRH said on Sunday that the problem existed in many wards of the hospital. “Besides patients, even doctors on duty were put to a lot of inconvenience. We have taken the issue to the notice of the PWD officials,” a senior official said.
A huge quantity of water had accumulated in Ward 105, Paediatrics Ward, near Cardiology Department, near Outpatients Ward, and the corridors that lead to Nephrology Department.
“Water began trickling down the ceiling and patients were sent to another room as a precautionary measure,” said Shanthi, whose son was admitted to the Paediatrics Ward last week.
The PWD, which takes care of the maintenance of GRH buildings, has prepared an estimate and forwarded it to the State government.
“We sent a proposal to the Health Department recently. The blockages in rainwater pipes have been cleared by the contract workers. Once we receive the maintenance grant, tender will be called to carry out emergency works,” said a senior PWD engineer.
It may be recalled that the PWD had prepared a report on the strength and status of the buildings at the GRH in 2012 and sought Rs.5 crore from the State government to set right the lapses in drainage system, control ceiling leaks, pipeline damages and electrical works.
