Hospital affected by water crisis in Bintan
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Bintan, Riau Islands | Archipelago | Wed, October 10 2012, 9:43 PM
Water scarcity caused by long period of draught has affected medical facilities in Tanjung Ubun General Hospital (RSUD) in Bintan, Riau Islands.
According to hospital spokesman Isra Gigantara, the hospital had not been able to use its own water source since Aug. 15 and instead had to buy five tanks of clean water at a cost of Rp 750,000 (US$79) every day.
The hospital needed the water to clean medical equipment, Isra said on Wednesday.
Even at high prices, Isra said that the water company could not guarantee sufficient supply. “Sometimes clean water is not available, so we cannot clean the equipment, including dental tools,” Isra said.
“Sometimes we have to reject patients, because we cannot operate unclean tools,” he said.
Isra said that the hospital had been seeking other ways to get clean water. “We even tried to deepen the well,” he said.
The hospital and around 15,584 Tanjung Uban residents depend on 20-hectare reservoir, which has recently run dry, as their main water source. (cor/lfr)
