AIIMS Wall Develops Cracks, 25 Patients Shifted

Bhubaneswar: The authorities of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) here shifted 25 patients admitted to the emergency and trauma care unit after a side wall of the ward subsided, on Thursday.

According to sources, cracks had developed on the walls of the ward, which also housed a temporary operation theatre, following the recent incessant rain. These grew wider on Wednesday night leading to panic among the patients.

Khurda collector Nirmal Kumar Mishra and officials of Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which had undertaken the construction work, inspected the cracks in the building inaugurated four years ago.

“We had contacted the CPWD after the cracks developed. The inspection report stated that some part of the soil underneath the structure settled causing the cracks. The problem can be fixed by constructing a beam around it. The CPWD has assured that the repair work will be completed in a month,” said AIIMS Director Gitanjali Batmanabane.

The patients were shifted since the repair work would have exposed them to dust and noise, she said, adding that cracks and other structural issues, if any, will be investigated by a team of experts from IIT Bhubaneswar.

Spread over 100 acres, AIIMS started its operations in the city from 2014.