Jorhat, May 13: Two wards of Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) were flooded after chunks of the ceiling under the tin roof fell along with a ceiling fan, following a downpour last night which continued till mid morning today.
The outpatients department started examining patients after 11am today because of flooding.
JMCH superintendent Rajiv Bhattacharya said Rs 1.5 crore had been spent on making that part of the building, construction of which was completed in 2009. "The worst construction materials have been used by the contractors. This has happened earlier and we are in a very bad situation having to spend collected hospital funds on repair. Nothing is coming from the government," he said.
A source said the material used was a mix of plaster of Paris and cardboard. "As soon as the rainwater leaked in through the tin roofs it soaked the ceiling below which fell off in chunks. Rainwater flooded the psychiatric and dental wards of the hospital, falling on expensive equipment inside the ward. The ceiling fan in the room of the head of the department,dental department, also fell. The whole thing was discovered after the rooms were opened at 9am today," the source said.
Because of poor drainage and non-alignment of drains and roads, heavy rainfall usually results in water overflowing into the outpatients department. "There was a mess in the morning with patients having to wait for hours to get themselves examined," he said.
On March 15, 2012, when an annexe of JMCH was under construction, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary Akhil Gogoi had demanded a CBI inquiry or an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the construction project. The KMSS leader had alleged that the construction completed so far was of "very poor quality", because of use of substandard materials and violation of design specifications.
He had said since Assam is a highly sensitive seismic zone, the buildings constructed at JMCH were unsafe and could endanger the lives of several people, including staff and visitors. The National Rural Health Mission, now National Health Mission, was the supervising agency of the project, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in August 2008.
The AJYCP had also demanded a probe into poor construction after an under-construction roof collapsed in 2012. The drain walls had also broken in. Siba Kalita, AJYCP central committee organising secretary, said an inquiry had been ordered at that time by the district administration but the results were not known.
