Assam: Flood cripples Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, patients get chemotherapy on roads

Silchar: Many parts of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Silchar, Assam where there is a heavy flood situation, have been completely submerged due to the ongoing floods in Assam, which have critically affected a number of patients who are being transported on makeshift boats. 

The ongoing floods in Assam have affected around 32 districts of the state of which around 126 people have been killed so far, with over 22 lakh people being affected by it across the state. 

Also Read:Assam: Couple accuses Lakhimpur Hospital of baby swap

The hospital authorities are reportedly giving chemotherapy to patients on the road because of the waterlogging in the hospital. As per the Reuters report, the 150-bed Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre have been inundated for days, and the situation has become so dire that its administrators have requested life jackets and an inflatable raft to transport patients and staff, along with other essential items needed to keep the facility running. 

Dharshana R, the head of the resource-mobilisation department of the hospital said, "Procedures that can be done outside, like chemotherapy and initial diagnosis, we are doing on the road where there is minimal water-logging," adding, "If anybody requires emergency surgery we are conducting them, but we have reduced the overall numbers because of a shortage of nitrous gas required for anaesthesia." She said that the doctors had performed nearly four operations in the past week as compared to 20 before the flooding became too bad. She said that fresh supplies of drinking water, food and diesel for backup power, and fuel for cooking were all desperately needed. 

Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Reuters that the nearby Barak river flows from the hills of an adjoining state, adding that even though the flood waters have started to recede in many other areas located near Assam's mighty Brahmaputra river, the situation in Cachar and its neighbouring Karimganj and Hailakandi districts continues to be grim. 

Dharshana said that most of the beds in the cancer hospital were occupied more than a week ago even before the floods worsened, but they had to send patients home or to safer locations, with now only 85 patients remaining in the ward. 

Meanwhile, the Surgical oncologist and director of the hospital and Padma Shri Awardee, Dr Ravi Kannan said that they are checking how safe the conveyance of the makeshift boats is at the hospital, that they are using to transport the patients. Speaking to the Better India, he said, "We've created a raft. We took four lorry tubes and put plywood across them and tied it up. We're ferrying patients up and down across that in front of the hospital."

Dr Kannan added, "The hospital is marooned but outside there's an area available. We have set up an OPD there, where chemotherapy, drawing blood, etc. is being conducted. And patients that need more attention we're ferrying them in on the makeshift raft." Reiterating the concerns which were earlier expressed by Dr Dharshana, he added that there is an acute shortage of food, water, needles, and money for boats. 

He said that they are preparing to go to the patients' homes because many of them are marooned and are unable to travel to the hospital. He said, "Right now, we are somehow going to the homes of patients who are extremely sick and transporting them to the hospital. But patients who are relatively stable, we've to start looking at them also, because we cannot delay cancer treatment too much."

Stating that they would require money for rehabilitation as many of Dr Kannan's patients' and colleagues' homes have been damaged or completely submerged once the flood waters go down, he stated, "We need the help to find resources to rebuild all of this"

Many took to social media networking sites like Twitter to express and point out the situations in the hospital caused due to the floods. Dr Pramesh CS wrote on Twitter about how cancer treatment like chemotherapy is happening on any available space like roads and space outside the hospital, with the outpatient clinics being run under trees. He further added that the hospital was short of supplies and was looking for donations, providing their bank information. 

Similarly, surgical oncologist and head of the department Dr Ritesh Tapkire shared a photo of Dr Kannan checking the makeshift boat. 

The Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jall stated that the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), UNICEF and OXFAM, an international charitable organisation, have started operating boat-mounted water treatment units to drinking water to the people in need within Silchar and its peripheral areas, reports the Free Press Journal. 

Meanwhile, the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and other agencies are involved in relief and rescue operations across the state. As per the Assam flood report released by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on 29th June, the number of deaths stood at 12, with around 26 districts being affected in total. The rivers Beki (Road Bridge), Kopili (Dharamtul), and Brahmaputra (Tezpur; Neamatighat) are above the danger level. 

Also Read:Assam: SITA signs MOU with Gauhati Medical College and Hospital to conduct Post-COVID impact survey