Incessant rains flood Patna ICU; have claimed 539 lives in the country so far

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday held an emergency meeting with senior officials in the wake of rising level of Yamuna river due to heavy rains in the catchment areas, and directed them to stay alert to deal with any untoward situation.

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: The major parts of the country still suffer as they continue to get lashed by incessant rains. Heavy showers and flooding have claimed 539 lives so far. The same has also led to heavy loss of property. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday held an emergency meeting with senior officials in the wake of rising level of Yamuna river due to heavy rains in the catchment areas, and directed them to stay alert to deal with any untoward situation. He also conducted an aerial survey of the Hathnikund barrage located on Yamuna river in Yamunanagar district. The minister was told that 6,05,949 cusecs of water flowing from the Hathnikund barrage was passing through Karnal and would reach Delhi by Monday.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar conducted aerial survey of Hathnikund barrage yesterday. He has instructed the concerned officers to conduct a survey of flood affected areas. Farmers who have lost their crops to the flood will be provided compensation by the state govt. pic.twitter.com/1cADfzkGm8

— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2018

In an alarming sitution, the patients, doctors and nurses at Patna hospital had to wade through knee-deep water in the ICU of the state run Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMHC) which was flooded due to continuous rains. Even fish could be seen swimming inside the water which had filled the ICU. According to hospital officials, water had entered the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the medicine department and as a result, patients had to be shifted to a different ICU."We have shifted patients admitted in medicine department's ICU to the surgery department's ICU. Besides, efforts are on to pump out the water," NMCH Superintendent Chandrashekhar said. As the hospital is located in a low lying area, water has entered its various wards due to the heavy showers, the superintendent added. While television channels beamed the shocking footage of fish swimming inside the ICU, the family members of patients as well as some of the hospital staffers were left fuming. "We have come here for treatment of a family member, but if this continues, I am scared that I myself would fall ill," Shyam Kumar said.