Delhi deluge | Health services crippled at AIIMS; death toll rises to 8

Heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc in the national capital over the last couple of days, as apart from claiming 8 lives in separate incidents, it has crippled health services at the Neurosciences Centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi.

According to a notice dated June 28, all operation theatres (OTs) at the Neurosciences Centre were rendered non-functional. This was due to issues with air-conditioning systems and water seepage from the walls, reported news agency ANI.

Non-functional OTs

The neurosurgeries were also kept on halt and patients were referred to Safdarjung Hospital or other government hospitals.

A notice issued in this regard reads, “As per discussion with the NS OT Sister in-charge, MS (CNC), and the chief CN Centre, all the OTs are non-functional due to the non-functioning of the air-conditioning and also water seepage from the walls. Hence, no case can be operated on, any patients coming to an emergency requiring surgery, the same kindly be referred to either Safdarjung or any other government hospital. If there is a case, which has to be done urgently, may kindly be taken up in the trauma centre after discussing it with the concerned faculty.”

“After heavy rain, there was severe waterlogging in parts of the AIIMS hospital, especially in the basement of the Trauma Centre, where heavy generators and other equipment are kept. We had to stop OT after that, but 4 life-threatening surgeries were performed. The director and additional director took stock of the situation, but due to a power cut by NDMC, our OTs were shut till 4 pm. After power was restored, we started the OTs and surgeries were performed all night...The work to clear waterlogging is underway, but the OT of AIIMS Trauma is yet to start. We will start OTs once our electrical engineers give a green signal,” AIIMS Media Procol In-Charge Rima Dada was quoted as saying by ANI.

Death toll rises to 8

Meanwhile, the bodies of three labourers were on Saturday pulled from the rubble of a wall that collapsed at a construction site in the Vasant Vihar area amid heavy rain, officials said.

With this, the number of people killed in rain-related incidents in Delhi has climbed to eight.

The under-construction wall collapsed on Friday and the incident was reported to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) around 5:30 am. DFS officials said the bodies of three labourers have been pulled from the rubble. Two of them have been identified as Santosh Kumar Yadav (19) and Santosh (38). The third labourer is yet to be identified.

Five people died in rain-related incidents on Friday as the monsoon arrived with a fury, lashing the city with its highest rainfall in a single day of June in 88 years.

The deceased included a cab driver who died after a portion of a canopy at the Delhi airport collapsed, a 39-year-old man who was electrocuted in Rohini's Prem Nagar area and three people who drowned in New Usmanpur and Shalimar Bagh.

Govt holds emergency meet

The heavy rainfall has led to waterlogging, traffic jams, accidents, casualties, and injuries, prompting the Delhi government to take urgent measures. An emergency meeting was held at the Delhi Secretariat where several decisions were made to address the issues caused by the excessive rainfall.

Delhi Minister Atishi mentioned that 200 hotspots prone to waterlogging have been identified, attributing the problem to the rainfall surpassing the drain capacity. The Delhi government has also set up a 24-hour control room to monitor the waterlogging situation, minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has announced.

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also took stock of the situation and directed officials to set up an emergency control room and deploy static pumps to address waterlogging.

Raining trouble for people

The rainfall has brought along a host of problems for the people in Delhi, as water supply in several areas in Delhi has been affected due to a fault at the Chandrawal WW-II pump house following heavy rain. The Delhi Jal Board said the disruption in water supply will persist on Saturday too.

Similarly, Terminal-1 of Delhi airport will remain closed on Saturday, a day after a portion of a canopy collapsed, killing one person and injuring four others. All the flight movements have been shifted to Terminal-2 and Terminal-3.

Rainfall accompanied by strong winds also led to uprooting of trees in many areas, causing damage to properties and cars parked in residential areas. In many residential areas, locals had to wade through waist-deep water to step out of their homes.

In another incident in Kishanganj area of Delhi, passengers stuck inside a bus under a flooded underpass were rescued by police and rescue teams. Visuals showed rescue personnel, wearing life jackets, wading through the water to take out the passengers.

IMD issues orange alert

A day after Delhi witnessed heavy downpour, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued an orange alert for the National Capital Region (NCR).

The IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall over the next five days, with parts of Delhi likely to witness heavy showers till July 1.

The weather department has issued an orange alert for heavy rainfall till July 2. The IMD said that a heavier spell is anticipated on Sunday and Monday.

According to the department, along with Delhi, Shahdara, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad will experience generally cloudy skies. “Moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) is likely,” said the weather department.

For Saturday, IMD has forecast thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain over parts of Delhi-NCR, including Dwarka, Palam, Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Manesar.

(With agency inputs)