TIRUCHI
Patients and attenders at Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital are irked by the failure of authorities to clear the garbage accumulated at the rear of the building.
The waste, dumped since Wednesday, has not been cleared due to their lax attitude during the festival.
Hundreds of plastic bags filled with leftover food, plastic and other waste are lined at the backside of the hospital. Sanitary workers at the hospital have been instructed to accumulate biodegradable and non-biodegradable non-medical waste at the back of the Super Speciality Block from where a vehicle from Tiruchi Corporation will collect it on a daily basis. However, there has been no collection since Wednesday, the workers say.
The accumulated garbage had begun to emit a foul smell, following which the workers sprinkled disinfectant on it.
The workers say the hospital authorities can set up collection points with large dustbins on the hospital campus instead of individual bags. “With the recent rain, the bags get wet and the food and other material inside will decompose and potentially cause infection," a worker points out.
She was tasked with sprinkling the infectant the previous day. “We are risking our lives with this work. They can set up dustbins with lids so the waste can be collected there until the collection vehicle arrives,” she adds.
Patients' attenders, too, are unhappy, especially those admitted to the newly set up dengue ward, which is near the dumpsite. “Patients from various districts come here for treatment, but the smell of garbage puts them off,” P. Saraswathi, an attender said.
With diseases such as dengue and malaria common during the season, the hospital authorities must be watchful, she adds.
Another attender says the garbage piles attract stray dogs, posing a threat especially to children and elderly people.
When contacted, officials of the Corporation said they were unaware of the issue and would attend to it soon.
