Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences, Covid hospitals, has no water connection

HYDERABAD: Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (TIMSR) at Gachibowli, which now houses hundreds of Covid-19 patients and is set to be converted into a premier medical school, does not have a dedicated water pipeline. Since it was set up over a year ago, the hospital still depends on tankers for its water needs.
A key proposal of laying a dedicated water line to TIMSR is waiting for chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s nod, said an official of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) Water board officials told TOI that on the request of TIMSR management, a detailed project report (DPR) was prepared with an estimation of nearly Rs 17 crore to lay a dedicated water line for 24x7 water supply. But, the DPR is gathering dust.
Health experts have questioned the use of tanker water in a hospital set up especially for Covid-19 care.
“It is not a wise thing to do. One can never be sure of the level of contamination in this water, even if it's being carried by registered tankers since they travel long distances and can sustain leakages on the way. Also, tanker water is seldom tested,” said Kalpana Ramesh, founder, The Rainwater Project.
So, at a time when we are talking about hygiene and safety, using this water for patients can be disastrous for their health,” she added.
The proposal of laying a dedicated water line first came to light when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the city in March 2020. A joint survey was also done to lay a water line to ensure uninterrupted supply and a DPR was submitted to the TIMSR management, added the sources. Since then, the water board is also repeatedly pursuing the proposal with TIMSR, without any response.
So, for the time being, the entire hospital staff, its patients must depend on tanker water. “Daily six tankers are being supplied by us to TIMSR from the nearby filling station at Gachibowli. The capacity of each tanker is 20,000 litres and we deliver the water into a water sump located on the premises of the hospital,” HMWS&SB general manager, O&M Division-XV, S Rajasekhar said . “The TIMSR management is paying for these tankers under the commercial category,” he added.
According to the DPR, a water line is to be laid for a length of three kilometres to supply Krishna water to the TIMSR. “The water board is ready to take up laying work but is awaiting clearance from TIMSR,” a top official said.
The Water Board says it has got a clearance from GHMC too for cutting road to lay the water line.
Once the tender process gets over, laying of the waterline may likely be completed in a month or two, said the official. TIMSR director Vimala Thomas admitted that a proposal of laying a dedicated water line was with them. “We are pursuing it and so far, we have no water problem,” she said.