Rayagada: Patients at the Rayagada district headquarters hospital (DHH) as well as visitors are having a torrid time as neither the two new generators nor the sole lift at the five-storey building are working.
The new building of the hospital was constructed at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Two years after inauguration, the two generators were purchased and installed at a cost of Rs 24 lakh a month ago. But neither of them has been put to use even for a day leaving the patients in dire straits during power cuts.
With there being no difference in the suffering of in-patients, last Sunday the power cut between 9 am and 1.30pm
due to maintenance carried out in areas near the hospital by Southco left them in trouble.
It is the patients in the burns ward who are suffering the most. While burn-patients are required to be kept in air-conditioned wards, here the air-conditioners work only as long as there is power supply.
As the new building has no ramp, the aged, the weak and the physically-challenged patients largely depend on the lift to go to different floors. But the lift is also out of order. In the absence of lift, the relatives of patients undergo a lot of hardship. If they need to go to fourth or fifth floor they have to bear the brunt.
As it is the supplier’s responsibility to keep them running, why action is not being taken against the company surprises many.
When contacted, district programme manager (DPM) Rajeswar Pattanayak said the generators, purchased by general electrical division (GED), were tried and it was found that they stopped functioning after two hours. The diesel hose pipes connected to the generators also have to be changed as they fall short of the required size, he said, adding that steps would soon be taken to make them work.
People have urged the administration to take immediate steps to get the generators and lift functioning.
PNN
