Shimla: IGMC Hospital gets a wake-up call, water enters new OPD block from the nullah it stands on

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, August 25

The Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) had a rude awakening when on Wednesday, water entered the ground floor of the 13-storeyed new OPD block.

The water entered into the premises from the nullah the massive building has been constructed on. “The flow of water in the nullah increased considerably due to heavy rains that day, and the water gushed into the floor below the Trauma Centre,” said a hospital staff who saw the water streaming into the floor.

While no damage was done, the incident, however, brought to the fore the danger the OPD block would face in the event of enhanced water flow in the nullah any time in the future.

“This time it was just water. What would happen if there’s landslide of the kind that struck Summer Hill last week?” asked an IGMC employee.

IGMC principal Dr Sita Thakur said the contractor building a parking lot in the nullah, right next to the OPD block, would be asked to put in place a proper drainage system to ensure such incident doesn’t recur. “The existing drainage system proved inadequate to drain out the increased flow of water. We will ask him to put in bigger pipes/culverts,” the principal said.

The same day, water also entered the cancer hospital on the premises of the IGMC. “There was ankle-deep water on the ground floor that houses the OPDs,” said a cancer patient. As per the staff of the cancer hospital, huge amount of water flowed down from the Sanjauli-IGMC road, right above the cancer hospital. The drainage system on this road is in a shambles with broken drains and choked nullahs and culverts. “The drainage system on this road is indeed problematic. We will look see how this could be improved,” said Surender Chauhan, Mayor, Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Besides, the administrative block and PG Girls Hostel also faces some danger as a big land slide took place on Wednesday right behind it. The PWD has declared the “buildings safe and habitable till heavy rains”. “As per the report, we are supposed to rush out of the building as soon as it starts raining heavily,” said an IGMC employee in a lighter vein.