KARACHI - Poor sewerage system and bumpy roads leading to major hospitals of Karachi, including; Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, have become a serious inconvenience for thousands of visiting patients.
The major hospitals are emitting diseases at the same time it is curing people. The very important road in front of JPMC, where many other health organizations are located, is damaged at different places due to stagnant sewerage water and badly needs rehabilitation and replacement of sewerage lines along it.
Three major hospitals of Sindh province situated on Rafiqui Shaheed Road Karachi, including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) are in urgent need of proper sanitary sewerage systems and improved hygienic conditions to protect the patients, staff and attendants from various diseases.
Many other important institutions like; Jinnah Sindh Medical University, The Kidney Center, I&I Depot and other major offices are located on this road, but the road has not been repaired since the last several years, while sewerage pipeline installed in 1948 could not be replaced despite the passage of 66 years.
A visit of these hospitals would say volumes about the lack of seriousness of civic authorities towards hygienic and sanitary conditions, in tertiary medical care institutions that cater to the needs of the people of Karachi, in fact the whole of Sindh province.
An official of JPMC on condition of anonymity said; No civic institution like; Karachi Cantonment Board, Clifton Cantonment Board, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board and Provincial Government authorities are ready to own this important road, where 5,000 to 7,000 people come to visit these institutions on a daily basis.
He said; This road has not been repaired since several years, while choked sewerage pipelines also need to be replaced, despite several requests to civic intuitions. The sewerage water of overflowing gutters accumulated at the entrances of these major hospitals, which causes great inconvenience and health threats for the visiting patients.
The management of these hospitals try to drain out stagnant sewerage water, almost every day but have failed to find a permanent solution to it, due to the non-cooperative attitude of civic authorities. The sewerage water also threatens to ruin medicines worth millions of Rupees, stocked in I & I Depot.
The I&I Depot comprises of a cold storage of children vaccines, stores of TB Control Program, medicine store of City District Government Karachi and stores of World Health Organization, Drug Control Authority, Sindh AIDS Control programme and other major organizations.
The hospitals staff and visiting patients are facing great hardship and inconvenience due non-disposal of sewerage water and poor condition of road. A staff member of NICVD said; Sewerage conditions turned bad to worst in and around the hospital, since the authorities concerned can’t do anything for it. He said hospital sanitary staff drained out sewerage water on a daily basis, but the next day we face the same situation.
Meanwhile, President, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Karachi Prof Idress Adhi said; The Bureaucracy is not doing much for public benefit. Choked sewerage pipeline are posing great inconvenience for visiting patients and also speaks volume about the lack of seriousness of civic authorities. He said poor cleanliness conditions in hospitals show clear negligence and incompetence of the civic institutions that are responsible for maintaining the sewerage system.
He said; A single statement from the Chief Minister and Governor Sindh can play a vital role for improvement of sewerage systems and the overall situation.
Joint Executive Director, JPMC, Dr Seemin Jamali, said; Requests have been sent to all relevant civic institutions for improvement of sewerage systems in the area and replacement of choked sewerage water pipelines, but so far, no positive response has been received.