FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The false hydrocarbon polymer ceiling at the main casualty block of the Goa Medical College and Hospital gave way due to seepage of water on Tuesday evening after the heavy showers. There were no casualties reported.
The collapse of the false ceiling added to the already prevailing chaos at the casualty block due to people being brought in due to accidents resulting from the rainy evening.
The ceiling could not take the weight of the water and came down at around 8:15 pm as a doctor and attendants were attending to a patient who was just brought in.
Fortunately, the people present had noticed that water was collecting on the ceiling took evasive action. When it finally gave way, water came gushing down into the ward, with parts of the ceiling coming down later.
A serious leak in the roof is believed to be the cause of the crash, although the Dean of the Goa Medical College Dr VN Jindal said that the engineers of the GSIDC have been asked to ascertain the cause.
On hearing the news, local MLA Vishnu Wagh rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
“This is criminal neglect. The apathy shown towards works at the GMC is nothing less than criminal neglect and that too in a section that is most important to the GMC because all the emergency cases first come here,” Wagh told Herald adding that there were more than the normal number of patients at the GMC on account of the pre-monsoon showers.
“I went there at around 9:30 pm soon after I got the news and reached within 10 minutes. Even the Dean reached after me,” Wagh said.
Dean of Goa Medical College, who was summoned to the site, said that he has asked the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to look into the work and rectify it immediately.
Wagh said the part of the blame should lie on the lack of coordination between the GSIDC and the PWD both of which have different but similar responsibilities of maintaining the Goa Medical College and Hospital. He said he was calling an emergency meeting of the visiting committee of the Goa Medical College and Hospital on Friday to take stock of the situation.
“We were not able to meet after we were constituted because the assembly was in session. I have called for an emergency meeting on Friday,” Wagh said.
He said he expected more sections of the ceiling to come down as the night progresses as many parts were already soggy and on the verge of collapsing.
