MUMBAI: Refuting media reports of waterlogging on its premises on May 26, the KEM Hospital filed an affidavit with the Bombay High Court on Monday claiming that patient care remained unaffected. Raising concerns over media reports of rainwater flooding the hospital, the division bench of justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) earlier this week. The PIL cited newspaper reports highlighting the flooding at KEM Hospital.
On May 27, HT’s report highlighted inconveniences faced by hospital staffers and patients as ankle-length water had entered and accumulated in the wards. Several patients and their relatives who travelled from distant places had said their items were damaged after water entered the wards.
According to the reports cited in the PIL, heavy rainfall on May 26 led to waterlogging in several ground-floor wards and diagnostic departments, including MRI, X-ray, and sonography units. The court instructed the hospital’s dean to implement urgent preventive measures for the upcoming monsoon. It also directed the BMC to conduct a site visit and file a compliance affidavit by June 16.
On May 31, the additional municipal commissioner (city), the deputy municipal commissioners (infrastructure, public health), the assistant commissioner (south ward), officials from the stormwater drain (SWD) department and staff of KEM Hospital visited the site to review. During the visit, the officers assessed the cause of the flooding. They also suggested suitable remedial measures to avoid such incidents in future.
In an affidavit filed as per the court orders, KEM Hospital dean Sangeetha Ravat stated that the hospital, while situated in a catchment area, also had an East-to-West sloping topography. This caused the surface runoff rainwater to enter the open ground-floor corridor of the main building during the windy conditions that prevailed on May 26. He added that patients were neither treated nor waiting in this area.
According to the affidavit, CCTV footage from the hospital shows no water accumulated in the area where patients were treated. It said critical patient-care areas such as wards, the radiology department, MRI, and X-ray rooms remained completely unaffected and hospital operations continued without disruption. Records maintained by the radiology department show a total of 19 MRIs, 120 CT scans, 216 USGs and 270 X-rays were conducted on the day of the incident.
Refuting the media report that the patients were sitting at ankle-length deep water, the dean contended that it was not only completely misleading but was contrary to the situation at the site. A suction pump with a capacity of 240 cubic meters per hour, had been installed by the stormwater drain department. Ravat claimed that this pump was operational on May 26. However, the other pump, installed last year next to the MRO office where rainwater accumulated, was not installed this year due to its low utilization in the last monsoon. “Four additional small pumps of 2 HP capacity were immediately installed by the hospital administration,” it said.
The affidavit stated that the rainwater accumulated in the passageway receded quickly once the intensity of rainfall reduced. “In addition to the existing pump, a second pump of 240 cubic metres per hour capacity was immediately deployed by the stormwater drain department on May 27, 2025,” said the affidavit. To avoid such circumstances in future, a temporary shed was erected throughout the length of the open passage after assessment to prevent direct ingress of rainwater. The dean ensured that the SWD department and the KEM Hospital administration would continue to undertake the periodic cleaning of internal and external drains throughout the monsoon season.
Scheduling the matter for further hearing next week, the division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne on Monday sought to clarify the short-term remedial steps taken or implemented to address the issue.