Kathmandu, December 9:

Patients at Sahid Shukra Raj Tropical Hospital in Teku are facing difficulty even in reaching the hospital due to a dilapidated condition of the road that leads to it.

The hospital’s emergency ward treats around 60 patients in summer and about 15 patients in winter on a daily basis. Jhalak Pandey, an ambulance driver at the hospital, shared his woes.

Once he had to rush a child to Kanti Hospital within 10 minutes and he asked its parents to hold on to the child tight while he sped the ambulance.

“The same can’t be done everytime,” he commented. He said the potholes on the road were a nuisance for all ambulance drivers.

“Regular maintenance of the road is not the sole responsibility of the hospital as it is not

our private property,”

Hiranya Kumar Thapa, section officer at the hospital, said.

Thapa further added, “It’s not only the ambulances that are facing the problem but other vehicles, including motorbikes and bicycles, too.”

Patients needing emergency care are the real victims of the road in a bad shape, Thapa said.

Who is responsible:

We plan to maintain the road in local people’s participation this year. The project has received due priority in the ward’s annual plan of action. We have estimated Rs 1 million for blacktopping the road, but its realisation will come once the locals agree to contribute their part as the ward’s budgetary allocation does not suffice the cost borne. People should contribute for the road’s upkeep.

— Rabi Shrestha, secretary, Ward no 12, Kathmandu Metropolitan City