Hirekop Rajan Samuel

Belagavi, 23 June

With Belagavi grappling with a severe water crisis, the district hospital has reportedly deferred non-critical surgeries and limited inpatient admissions to focus on emergency cases until the water situation improves.

The city is now being supplied with water once every eight days, with the schedule remaining uncertain. This is a massive increase, as several areas earlier received water only once every five days.

The Belagavi district hospital has around 1,000 inpatient beds, and performs an average of 50 surgeries daily, of which about five are emergency procedures that cannot be delayed. However, sources said that the hospital had instructed heads of departments to postpone all pre-scheduled surgeries and attend only emergency and critical cases.

Sources also said the hospital had curtailed fresh inpatient admissions, treating more patients through the Outpatient Department (OPD) until the water situation improves. Normally, the hospital admits 100 patients per day. The move was necessitated by the need to conserve water required for sanitation, bathrooms and other essential services for admitted patients.

Ashok Kumar Shetty, Dean of the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, confirmed that an oral instruction had been issued over the weekend to all departments about postponing surgeries, but said the situation had since improved. “The water problem has now been resolved, and all surgeries will be carried out as usual”.

He added that the hospital ensured sufficient water shortage to the maternity department, which receives hundreds of patients daily, despite the acute shortage.

Belagavi Deputy Mayor Hanumanth Kongali told Salar News that the government was working to provide water to every ward for two hours a day, instead of 24/7, until the situation improves.

Kongali, who visited Rakkaskopp reservoir, the main water storage centre for Belagavi, on Tuesday, added that 20 million litres per Day (mld) of water from Rakkaskopp and 60mld of water from Hidkal reservoir in Hukkeri taluk would be used to supply water.

Meanwhile, Belagavi North Congress legislator Asif Sait told Salar News the government would ensure that government hospitals do not face any shortage of water.

Industries also hit

The water crisis has also impacted Belagavi's industrial sector. Hundreds of foundry units in Belagavi city's industrial cluster have reportedly reduced operations by cutting down the duration of shifts due to inadequate water supply.

Vikas Kalghatgi, former president of the Belagavi Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said industries had suffered setbacks after the government prioritised water supply for domestic consumption over industrial use.