Load shedding affects hospitals

Dang, Dec. 26 The daily work of government and private hospitals in Rapti Zone have been badly affected by the ongoing electricity load shedding. The hospitals sources said that they had been experiencing difficulties to treat patients due to increasing power outage problem. Rapti zonal hospital and Rapti sub-regional hospital informed that they were compelled to treat patients with the help of inverters, candles and emergency lights due to the absence of proper alternative to regular electricity. The maternity and operative wards of the hospitals have gravely been affected after the electricity authority increased load shedding schedule from 6 hours to 10 hours recently. Load shedding was limited to 14 hours a day in the district last year due to managed supply and import. According to Nepal Electricity Authority, Ghorahi branch, electricity supplied from Lahan has been distributed through out the district but random power cuts during normal hours have worsened the situation. There has been growing voices from the people towards stakeholders for their lack of concern to find alternate solution to cope with the persisting situation in health sector. The 25-KVA generator worth Rs. 2 million provided to the sub-regional hospital by UNICEF five years ago has been thrown at the backyard of the hospital premise and is yet to be repaired. The problem was more aggravated after another 10-KVA generator given by district election office, Dang also stopped working. The hospital administration said that they had written several times to the concerned offices regarding the problem with no response and had backed off from repairing the generator due to high maintenance cost. Bishow Raj Neupane, chairman of Rapti sub-regional hospital development committee, said that discussions to provide alternative solution with concerned stakeholders were being carried out. He said that the hospital would promptly connect feeder line as part of an alternative measure to cope with the situation for which Rs. 3.2 million has been already allocated. Meanwhile, the district administration office has also initiated the process to connect feeder lines at two hospitals.