No water supply for twelve days
Inpatients of Barisal General Hospital have been undergoing untold sufferings due to suspension of water supply for the last 12 days after the water pump and deep tube-well went out of order.
However, prompt initiatives were not seen from the authorities.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Dr Delwar Hossain, resident medical officer (RMO) of the 100-bed hospital, said it would take one more week to restore water supply.
To tackle the situation in the meantime, the authorities have stopped admitting patients, except those in critical condition, and are asking patients to go to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, which is 4km away.
Founded in 1910, Barisal General Hospital is one of the oldest in the southern region and runs a separate diarrhoea ward, unlike other public hospitals.
In the diarrhoea ward, all 16 beds are occupied by critical patients at present.
Family members and relatives of the admitted patients said they were bringing water from a nearby mosque and residences to meet emergency needs.
Describing their sufferings, medicine ward patient Suvas Mistry said, "It has turned into a hell."
Due to the water crisis, new admissions have been slashed. The RMO said usually 120-140 patients were admitted to the hospital in a given time but now there were only 80-90.
Anowara Behum, who travelled 10km from Sayestabad, said she had been admitted to the diarrhoea ward but was forced to leave for home amid the crisis.
RMO Delowar Hossain said he wrote to the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), which is supposed to fix the water pump, and personally informed its officials of the situation on March 9, a day after the pump malfunctioned.
Ripon Hossain, assistant engineer of DPHE, said they were working on the pump, but it would take one more week to restore supply.
Asked about the delay, the RMO said he urged the DPHE officials repeatedly to accelerate the repair works and denied sluggishness on his part.
The DPHE engineer recognised the delay and said it occurred because some labourers fixing the pump had abandoned the work for two to three days.
He did not say why they had left work.