Cuttack: Defunct and ill-maintained drinking water kiosks and tube wells at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Postgraduate Institute of Pediatrics (Sishu Bhawan) here are adding to the woes of the patients and their attendants.
Many attendants have blamed the callousness of the hospital authorities for the inconvenience in getting drinking water amid the scorching heat.
Ailing children from across the state are usually admitted to Sishu Bhawan for advanced treatment. Several drinking water kiosks have been set up on the childcare institute premises to cater to the needs of the patients and their attendants, sources said.
However, most of these drinking water kiosks have either turned defunct or developed glitches due to poor maintenance. Several taps of a kiosk in front of the surgery ward of Sishu Bhawan have come off while the facility has been filled with garbage, sources said.
Similarly, a water kiosk at the advanced care centre of the childcare hospital is out of service due to glitches in its freezer. Moreover, most of the taps at the kiosk have been damaged since last many days.
On the other hand, the hospital authorities have failed to ensure cleanliness near a few tube wells and kiosks.
“Most of the drinking water kiosks at Sishu Bhawan have been set up with MPLADS funds and assistance from private entities. These kiosks have turned defunct due to poor maintenance. We are facing problems in collecting drinking water,” rued Raghunath Swain, an attendant.
Echoing the same, another attendant Tiki Dehury said, “We have been deprived of cold water amid the prevailing hot weather. The authorities have failed to maintain the water kiosks.”
Sishu Bhawan superintendent Gyanendra Behera said they have informed the Public Health Engineering Organisation to repair the defunct water kiosks. “We will take steps to ensure cleanliness at the water kiosks,” he added.
PNN