MIRPURKHAS, Oct 6: Hats off to the management and students of a private school for doing a community service which otherwise was the responsibility of the civil administration. They drained out rainwater from the premises of a hospital stagnating for more than a month. The students were fully armed with pails and buckets to defeat water invasion.

Some 300 students and management of the Eastern Public School and College arrived at the Civil Hospital on Thursday and after making a queue from the main gate to storm-water drain at the Post Office roundabout began the dewatering process.

The first in line filled the stagnant rainwater and passed it to the next in line till the pail reached to the last person who threw it in the drain. The process continued for about two hours with zeal and zest and attracted doctors and staff in joining anoble but a unique task.

`Where there`s a will there`s a way as nothing is impossible if one decides to overcome the hurdles coming in his way,` In-chare Aleemuddin of school Campus 2 said. If hospital premises can be dewatered then why not rest of the places still submerged under rainwater, he wondered.

Unfortunately, last downpour filled the hospital premises with three to four feet of water and doctors, staff and patients could reach the building only through donkey-carts.

Different departments, including gynaecology, ENT, eye and surgical wards remained non functional as patients and staff could not reach there.

Dialyses centre also became non-functional and some burglars took away computers from there and an air-conditioner from the Civil Surgeon`s room.

Civil Surgeon Dr Asghar Arain said that services insurgical, dialysis, X-ray and pathology wards were suspended when rainwater began accumulating inside the premises. He said dewatering process was being carried out with the help of machines.

TRAFFIC RESTORED: Traffic between Tando Jan Mohammad and Digri was restored after a drop in water level and its release into spinal drain and Puran Nullah.

Last month`s heavy downpour inundated MirpurkhasJhuddo road between Digri and Tando Jan Mohammad.

However, traffic remained suspended between Jhuddo and Tando Jan Mohammad because the road from cotton ginning factory of Tando Jan Mohammad to Teddy Mori was still under four to five feet water.

Some residential areas of Tando Jan Mohammad, including ward No 5, Qazi colony, Mir Khuda Bux colony and Qaiser town had been cleared of water.