Ekatha Ann JohnEkatha Ann John, TNN | Nov 1, 2012, 05.58AM IST
V Santhanam's hands shook as he wrapped a polythene bag round his leg before wading through the water-filled path to the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday.
"I asked the auto driver to take me right to the entrance of the hospital, but he demanded more money, so I got down and decided to walk," said the 72-year-old , who lost his leg in a road accident. "The last time I came here, it was raining heavily and I had to sit on the floor in the corridor to meet the doctor," he said.
As the city braced for cyclone Nilam, patients in hospitals had many hurdles to cross. Apart from waterlogged roads leading to hospitals, the corridors in many hospitals were flooded. At the KMCH, people huddled together as they tried to evade water that snaked into the wards through the windows.
While hospital authorities claimed a lot of infrastructure improvement had been made since the last monsoon, they admitted that there was a lot more to be done. A senior official said the ground level has been raised, drains constructed and pumps put in place to drain out excess water. "But there is definitely more to be done. Several of our ongoing works have been stalled because of the rain," he said.
Apart from stagnant water that welcome patients, piles of construction debris, open sewers and floating garbage added to the problems of patients and others.
The scene at the children's hospital in Egmore, Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Government General Hospital and Government Royapettah Hospital was the same.
From dealing with poor infrastructure to draining out excess water, officials had their hands full. "We are doing everything to mitigate flooding to prevent threats of infection. The public works department, Chennai Metrowater and Chennai Corporation are working in tandem to ensure this," said C Vamsadhara, director of medical education.