Team Herald
MARGAO: With the government failing to pay the pending bills of the contractor tasked with maintaining the elevators at the South Goa District Hospital, patients and attendants are still forced to trudge up the stairs, or wait in queue to ride the lone functional elevator in the hospital complex. Out of the eight elevators, seven have been defunct for quite a long time, inconveniencing not just visitors, but doctors and hospital staff as well.
A visit to the hospital revealed crowds of people waiting in line outside the one elevator that works, considering the large number of patients and their relatives who visit for treatment from across South Goa and even the neighbouring districts. Peter Furtado, a resident of Navelim, expressed anger that the government just ignores a serious issue related to health services.
“This issue has been raised again and again by the citizens and even through the media, but the government seems to be sidelining it deliberately,” he alleged.
Medical Superintendent Dr Deepa Afonso admitted that the elevators at the district hospital buildings have been non-functional for a very long time and that the administration has also heard that the contractor who installed the lifts has not been paid yet.
"Yes, only one elevator is in working condition. However, the concerned authorities have responded to our complaints positively, and we hope they will be repaired shortly,” she said.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Tuesday urged Health Minister Vishwajit Rane to take serious note of the non-functional lifts at the district hospital.