Water Shortage Affects Patients, Surgeries At Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital

As per reports, the water supplied by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is insufficient due to the low pressure and irregular supply, which is causing severe hardship for inpatients. The shortage is also affecting surgeries, forcing patients to wait for days for scheduled surgeries.

A Government Ophthalmic hospital with a 550-bed capacity is known for operating patients free of cost, and has patients from across Telangana as well as neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka coming here for treatment.

The hospital’s outpatient department sees 1,200-1,500 patients daily, and around 100 patients require surgery, including about 40 cataract surgeries performed each day. These are performed in 10 operating theatres. For the past two months, only emergency operations have been taken up, and doctors are postponing routine procedures like cataract surgeries due to the water crisis. This is causing major inconvenience to patients who travel from distant places.

With HMWSSB supply falling short, hospital authorities tried to book private water tankers, but due to the pending bills, the online bookings were stalled. On Thursday, hospital staff approached HMWSSB officials and paid Rs 3,600 to get three tankers after repeated requests.

Hyderabad is currently facing a severe drinking water shortage with several areas experiencing delayed deliveries. Reports state that the tanker bookings through the HMWSSB have surged by over 128% compared to last year. This massive demand has created severe delivery backlogs, forcing residents and organizations dependant on them to wait anywhere from 24 to 72 hours for a water tanker to arrive.

Hospital sources said they have submitted multiple petitions to HMWSSB explaining patients’ plight due to erratic water supply and hope to find a solution soon.