Worsening drought situation in Chennai: Forces Doctors to buy water for surgery

Chennai: The situation of water shortage in Chennai has taken such a bad turn that surgeons in the hospitals are reported to buy water for medical needs. The unprecedented water shortage in Chennai is taking the worst turn with the passage of time and along with others, the surgeons in Chennai hospitals too are praying the for the water situation to go back to normal. The situation has been so that the doctors are compelled to buy water for performing surgeries in the operation theatre.

T.N. Ravisankar, a doctor in Chennai, says that for them, treating patients too have turned into “depend on God’s mercy.” Ravisankar is the chairman of Sudar hospitals which is a chain of four clinics with 150 beds. He further added that the dreadful thing is that the piped water at his hospitals has dried up already. Possibilities are that the water which he is buying for the hospital so far at a very high cost, too will be unavailable soon in keeping with the situation of drought in Tamil Nadu.

Ravisankar says, “The cost escalation will have to be passed on to patients, who will have to spend more. If the situation continues, after a month we won’t be able to serve patients.”

As the monsoon in the state has delayed this year and last year as well there were shortfalls in rain, Tamil Nadu along with around half of India are facing drought-like conditions. Tamil Nadu has even appeared to suffer from “severe dry” cycle.

Notably, the national capital has also experienced the worst monsoon delay in 45 years. Only less than a fifth of Delhi homes are availing piped water supply.

The acute water shortage has emerged as an after effect of climate change. Water, lately, has emerged as a serious economic risk in Asia’s third-largest economy. As per a report by India’s environment ministry, India has suffered about 2.54% of gross domestic product in 2014-15 due to desertification, land degradation and drought.

Also read: Severe water crisis due to rain deficiency: Drought-like situation in half of India