Jamshedpur: The state-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH) is experiencing water woes as its borewells do not have sufficient water to meet the daily needs of the hospital.According to the hospital management and experts, the water crisis could be because of the depleting groundwater table or the negligence on the part of the management in maintaining the borewell pumps, which were not started for days in a row and taps being stolen from washrooms. The crisis reached a point where the hospital management is sourcing water through the tankers of the Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) for its medical and non-medical requirements. Hospital officials said last week that 20 surgeries were deferred due to insufficient water.According to the hospital management, water is required for surgeries, sterilisation, and autoclaving. Surgeons also need water for cleaning themselves, and the operation theatre (OT) staff need water for cleaning purposes.Currently, there are 10 OTs — three each for surgery and gynaecology departments, two for the orthopaedics department, and one each for eye and ENT departments — operational at the 750-bed hospital.Amid the reeling water crisis, deputy commissioner Karn Satyarthi on Thursday chaired a meeting with the hospital management to address the problem.Later, MGMMCH principal Dr Sanjay Kumar said, “The DC asked the MNAC to speed up the project work about the construction of the water treatment plant and installation of a dedicated pipeline from the Subernarekha River to the hospital building.”For now, the supply of water from tankers will continue until the pipeline is installed to streamline supply to the hospital.The hospital is receiving about 2 million litres daily (MLD) of water from its seven borewells, but it is insufficient, and the civic body is supplying five tankers twice a day.“Our requirement is 3 MLD. However, with the limited borewell water and tanker supply, we are hardly able to manage our requirements,” Dr Kumar said.Hospital superintendent, Dr Balram Jha, said depletion of the groundwater table could be the cause behind the borewells’ problem, but in the preliminary investigation, it was found that half of the borewell pumps were not switched on by the pump-operating staff for days in a row. Besides, several taps in the washrooms in the G+7 building were stolen by thieves, which caused huge wastage of water.“After the probe, the gaps were plugged, but the water problem will not be solved permanently until the 3 MLD water supply project becomes operational,” Dr Jha added.
