The air-conditioned burns ward of MGM Medical Hospital and College has literally become a hot chamber after angry kin of a patient broke the main glass door of the sprawling room earlier this week following an argument with authorities over alleged medical negligence.

To make matters worse, the door cannot be replaced or repaired till elections are over on May 23 as it comes under the ambit of the model poll code.

While accepting the fact that burns patients were suffering a lot since the ACs weren’t cooling the room efficiently because of the broken door, hospital deputy superintendent Nakul Prasad Chaudhury said, “The door cannot be repaired or replaced now. We can float a tender to replace the door only after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared on May 23.”

“Kin of a patient broke the door on Tuesday. Since then, the 25x14-feet burns ward isn’t getting cooled, causing patients to suffer a lot,” he said. Sources alleged that relatives of a patient smashed the glass door after doctors failed to bandage a patient on time.

With the authorities waiting for poll results to be declared before repairing the door, kin of patients recuperating in the burns ward are flooding the room with pedestal fans for cooling.

As on Saturday, there were 16 patients, including three men, admitted to the burns care unit. While most of them had sustained around 40 per cent burns, some were down with 60 per cent burns.

“Since the ACs aren’t cooling properly because of the broken glass door, my sister Laxmi is suffering a lot in this extreme heat,” Santosh Gorai told The Telegraph.

A resident of Gamharia in Seraikela-Kharsawan, Gorai said he had lodged a complaint with the hospital authorities to repair the door without delay.