April 17: Rapped by the Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) for flouting biomedical waste disposal rules, the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) has rushed to prepare a detailed report on steps being taken by it for controlling pollution.

The board had recently pulled up the GMCH for flouting biomedical waste disposal rules.

During a surprise visit to the GMCH last week, a PCBA team headed by its chairman J.L. Dutta found the overall condition of the hospital ?deplorable?.

According to the PCBA team, the gynaecological ward, labour room and operation theatre besides the paediatric ward were the most polluted since all norms of discharging biomedical waste have been violated from its source up to disposal.

Embarrassed by the finding of the PCBA, the hospital authorities have decided to submit a report to apprise the board of the steps being taken for creating a pollution-free atmosphere on the GMCH campus.

Principal-cum-chief superintendent of the GMCH, M.M. Deka, today said the installation of pollution-control facilities is going on at the hospital according to the provisions of the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.

?The GMCH will have a sewage treatment facility by June which will segregate the hospital waste at the source and place them in bags of different hues in compliance with the rules. The Rs 1.7-crore facility is being executed by the public works department (PWD). Moreover, the second incinerator for the hospital was procured at a cost of Rs 27 lakh and it will be made functional within this week,? Deka said.

He said all these details would be appended in the report to be submitted to the PCBA. The PCBA officials, however, are insisting that having an incinerator is not enough as it burns only 10 per cent of the waste.

?An integrated system should be put in place, comprising an incinerator, autoclave, shredder and an effluent treatment plant with specifications laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board and ministry of environment and forests to completely dispose of the waste,? a PCBA official said.

According to the PCBA, there is no provision for segregation of biodegradable, non-biodegradable, infectious and non-infectious waste in the hospital.

Member-secretary of the PCBA, P.C. Baruah, said liquid waste, leftovers after operation, blood bags and other highly infectious waste have been thrown directly into the drains.

The PCBA team said the hospital has been dumping solid waste in a nearby low-lying area. It further found that all the drains of the hospital are filled with contaminated waste, raw sewage, biomedical waste and other items.