LARKANA: Besides shortage of medicines, unhygienic wards, lack of medics, nurses and paramedics, medical equipment, machinery and instruments, the Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) even lacks essential facilities like potable water in the entire 1500-bed hospital capacity, the largest teaching hospital in rural Sindh, despite the allocation of huge budgetary funds from the taxpayers’ money. The hospital consists of five blocks including Teaching, Shaikh Zayed Hospital for Women, Paeds Medicine, Paeds Surgery and ZA Bhutto Laboratory which are located near the non-perennial Rice canal in the middle of the city. Usually, the untreated sewage drains into water bodies which are closely built in many residential areas, leading to mixing of sewage into drinking water. As a result, residents of the city and patients of the CMCH have been facing severe health issues. Moreover, bore water in the office building of medical superintendent has also been contaminated. Dozens of cemented and plastic water tanks, and the water coolers have also become dysfunctional forcing patients and their families to procure mineral water. Meanwhile, hand pumps are the only source of potable water, which are not enough to provide water to all residents and patients. Despite the directives of Supreme Court’s Water Commission’s Head Justice (Rtd) Amir Hani Muslim to install reverse osmosis (RO) plants to filter water, no progress has been made. Meanwhile, patients and their families on Tuesday expressed profound concerns over the situation that the provincial government could not install RO plants. “We are being provided worst treatment even than animals as we have to buy medicines and water from shops,” they said. Dr Gafiz Gulab Morio said that his family had moved to Larkana in 1968 when water was pure and safe, and there was no environmental issue, but now the city has become highly polluted. Meanwhile, CMCH Medical Superintendent Dr Ali Gohar Dahri claimed that RO plants were being installed at five different places in the hospital, which were donated by philanthropists. He told the media that the underground water in Larkana has become highly contaminated and he feared fatal waterborne diseases to surface. He said that the Sindh’s government should install RO plants across Larkana. Published in Daily Times, September 12th 2018.