Medical waste turns health hazard

• Medical college hospital releasing waste into the pondbe treated first before releasing it into pond
• Social activists urge authorities to ensure that medical waste

​Mahbubnagar: A freshwater pond located near the SVS medical college and hospital here is getting polluted as the hospital’s drainage is being directly released into the pond. The hospital which is located on the outskirts of Mahbubnagar near Yenugonda treats more than 1,000 out-patients and admits 150-200 in patients every day.

The pond water which has turned green has been emitting pungent smell causing discomfort to nearby residents. “We have been complaining to the municipal authorities and the Pollution Control Department frequently about hospital waste water being released into the lake, but to no avail. We are forced to bear with this pungent smell which sometimes is causing health hazards,” said Ramesh, a resident living close to the lake.

“This is going to be another mini Hussain Sagar in Mahbubnagar. The trees and the aquatic life have been affected and is causing many health problems to the residents,” said Raja Singh, who runs a nursery near the lake.

Many residents of the area felt that the hospital being a reputed medical college in the district that delivers the best healthcare service should have at least tried to fulfil its social responsibility by taking steps to ensure healthy surroundings for its premises.

“On one hand, the hospital treats lakhs of people, while on the other the hospital itself is becoming the source of health hazards to the people. At least, the management should open its eyes and see that all the effluents released from it are first treated before releasing into the fresh water body lakes,” said social activists from DRDSO NGO. The social activists demanded that the Pollution Control Board should immediately take steps to restore the lake.