HYDERABAD: Acting Commissioner Ahsan Ali Qureshi, Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abideen and senior officials of the water and power utilities held an emergency meeting with the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Medical Superintendent Dr Aijaz Abbasi and his executive team on Sunday on Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah’s directive to help resolve the hospital’s water shortage issue on an urgent basis.

Dr Abbasi, along with LUH Additional Dispensary Superintendent Dr Aftab Phull, Dr Faizan Memon and others apprised the Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HW&SC) Managing Director Zishan Malik, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) Superintending Engineer Ameer Ali Memon and other executives of the two utilities about the issue and the serious situation arising out of water shortage.

After the meeting, CS Asif Hyder Shah told Dawn over phone that he had asked the district administration, Hesco and HW&SC to make sure that hospital’s working was not affected considering an emergency-like situation feared to be caused by the prevailing heatwave.

He said that administration in consultation with the LUH management would also prepare an action plan for hospital’s working.

The LUH administration officials informed the visiting officers that the hospital had been facing an acute shortage of water off and on for several days and the problem was not being resolved.

They said that when HW&SC administration was approached, they were told that the HW&SC was facing power outages problem which was to be resolved by Hesco alone.

They pointed out that the LUH, being one of the largest tertiary facility of lower Sindh, received countless number of patients from several districts.

They said that the amount of bills being paid to HW&SC was sufficient to install reverse osmosis plants; and that the hospital was not simply getting uninterrupted water supply.

HW&SC MD Zishan said that since power loadshedding was affecting overall water supply system, the hospital was also facing water shortage.

Acting Commissioner Ahsan Qureshi said that Hesco officers were asked to ensure resolution of water supply to the LUH at the earliest.

Hesco officers promised to ensure supply through express feeders to the HW&SC for those facilities which provide water to the LUH. For this purpose, he said, Hesco MD and SE would submit their report to him.

According to Dr Aftab, a committee was also constituted to assess water consumption and feasibility for RO plant installation after he proposed use of renewable energy.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2024