Day 2: Hospitals get water at low pressure, no surgeries called off

Hospitals in south Mumbai were better prepared to deal with the water shortage on the second day of the repair work on the Maroshi-Ruparel underground tunnel.

Hospitals in south Mumbai were better prepared to deal with the water shortage on the second day of the repair work on the Maroshi-Ruparel underground tunnel.

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Though some hospitals received water at low pressure, others called in water tankers or managed with water from borewells. On Monday, medical services at several hospitals were affected due to water shortage. Hospitals had to postpone surgeries and catered only to emergency operations. The repair work is expected to be completed on May 12.

On Tuesday, routine and emergency surgeries were conducted in Bombay Hospital, Cama Hospital, St George Hospital, GT Hospital, Jaslok Hospital and Nair Hospital.

Nair Hospital, where a few patients needing dialysis, were transferred to Sion and KEM hospitals on Monday, had the situation under control on Tuesday.

“On Tuesday, we received 70% water supply and thus could conduct all surgeries. Though the pressure of water was less compared to normal days, the situation was better than Monday,” said Dr M Shah, deputy dean of Nair Hospital.

Superintendents of St George Hospital and GT Hospital said that they had to collect water from borewells located in the hospital premises to compensate the water shortage on Tuesday.

Dr A Chowdhary, superintendent of GT Hospital, said that although the hospital received no emergency cases, four scheduled surgeries were carried out. St George Hospital superintendent Dr CG Gaikwad said that nine surgeries were conducted in the hospital thanks to adequate water from borewell in the hospital.

Dr Sagar Sakle, chief medical officer at Bombay Hospital said that no surgeries were postponed due to water shortage. “We have been utilising 30 to 35 water tankers every day for the hospital work,” said the doctor.