Quite ironically, the third building of this complex, which was built 20 years back (other two are over 40 years old), is in the worst shape. The nurses and ward boys here constantly warn visitors not to stray too close to dangerous zones outside the building - these are areas where big chunks of parapets have fallen in the past. The parapets of all the flats of the `B' building of resident quarters too have crashed. The ward boys and other workers who occupy these flats have stopped using their balconies which have developed huge cracks. "We carry umbrellas to the toilet, ... the drainage pipes leak," said a resident doctor. "Four years ago, a maintenance department worker fell to his death while trying to repair adrainage pipe. Since then, no one has come to repair them," said a worker.

In the wards too there are huge cracks in the walls and on ceilings. The situation worsens in the monsoon when rain water floods rooms. Nurses pull the beds to the centre of rooms when the rains begin. "From the time I joined, we have been having problems during the rains. Due to the cracks in the ceiling, water puddles form on the floor. We have been asked to give our complaints in writing but no action is ever taken," said a nurse, who has been employed with the hospital for seven years.

And while rains flood the building every monsoon, rest of the year the staff does not have enough water to clean up the place. The third building, built in 1975, once again is the worst hit. "On April 8, we did not clean the rooms as there was no water," said a worker. The rooms are supposed to be cleaned at least thrice a day. Now, they get water in a tanker. But even this, workers said, barely suffices a proper cleaning. Vijaya Salvi, MedicalSuperintendent, agreed that there was a serious water crunch. She said new pipes were being laid, but denied there was any leakage in the wards. "For the last two years we have been conducting maintenance and repair work regularly and as far as I know, there is no leakage in the wards," she said.

Jagdish Deshpande, Secretary, Municipal Mazdoor Union, though begs to differ. He alleged that not a single rupee had been spent out of the "Rs 40 lakh allotted to the hospital a year ago for repairing the resident quarters."

S S Naik, Ward Officer (F) south, even said the water pipes have not been repaired nor replaced even once after the buildings were built. "The pipes are corroded and this could be the cause for the blockage of water," he said adding that new pipes had been procured and repair work would begin soon. However, neither Salvi nor Naik were willing to commit on a time frame. R D Solanki, Deputy Engineer, Planning and Design department, responsible for carrying out repairs to municipal hospitals,too was non-committal. He, in fact, was under the impression that work had begun. When it was pointed out to him that it wasn't so, he said it would begin soon.