The state government-run Aundh General Hospital, which is designated for the treatment of tuberculosis and swine flu, is likely to set a new record for registering the most number of chikungunya and dengue patients and that too those staying in its employees’ quarters.

Rajesh Nirgude

Shashikant Nikalje point to the garbage and plastic littered around the staff quarters of Aundh General Hospital. (Inset) Discarded needles found in the compound of the hospital

For the last three months, about 60 employees from Class I to Class IV and their relatives have fallen ill, probably from contaminated water and diseases spread by mosquitoes which multiply in the uncleared garbage bins   and clogged open drains in and around the vast complex.

When this reporter visited the place, even pigs, goats and dogs were found wading through the static ponds and roaming through the overgrown grass littered with  medical waste, broken liquor bottles and discarded condoms. 

It is alleged that neither the health authorities nor civic officials from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) or the employees of the Public Works Department, which is responsible for the upkeep of the sprawling 85-acre premises, bother to visit the spot to look into the problem.

The hospital has a combined strength of 524 people and some 4,000 family members of the staff, including those of the Employees State Insurance  Scheme (ESI) hospital, live within the compound of Aundh General Hospital.

Despite the raging health risk and unabated incidents of inhabitants falling to various infectious diseases, both the hospital administration and the PCMC, which is responsible for clearing garbage and fogging, have washed their hands off the problems. The neglect of the hospital premises is primarily due to issues about land ownership.

An employee of the hospital, who is working as a clerk in the TB division told Pune Mirror  on condition of anonymity, “I had chikungunya three months ago. All five members of my family were treated in Aundh hospital itself.

Despite several complaints  no one is taking responsibility to clean the area. People from outside intrude into the compound and use the place for immoral activities and also make the the area dirty.”

Another resident said, “There is infection on my legs for the past one month because of chikungunya. I am taking medicines from the hospital but took the treatment from a private hospital, because of the fear of contracting another disease.”