Sambalpur, May 31: The dark room in the eye department at VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla is yet to be equipped with air conditioners.

“Patients are suffering here in the dark room because of lack of air conditioner,” said a doctor requesting anonymity.

“The indifferent attitude of the authority is to be blamed for the suffering of the patients in the dark room,” said Pawan Mishra, a patient’s attendant.

“The dark room of the eye department is on the top floor of the hospital. And on a hot day, entering the room is no less painful than entering a heat chamber. It compounds the patients’ sufferings,” said Dhananjaya Satpathy, a local resident.

Associate professor of the eye department Pramod Sharma said: “The patients generally face the problem during summer. The dark room does not have the ventilation facility as well. And the patients, who come for eye test, have to wait for hours in the dark room.”

“At times, more than 30 patients come here for tests, and all of them have to sit for hours in the room simultaneously,” he said.

Sharma said they had written to the authorities several times to install air conditioners in the dark room. “I had even requested the executive engineer of the general electricity department to install two air conditioners in the dark room. However, they are yet to take any initiative in this regard,” he said.

Contacted, superintendent of the medical college and hospital L.K. Dash said: “Steps will be taken to install air-conditioners in the dark room of the eye department at the earliest.” Everyday, on an average, 40 patients come to the dark room for eye test.