The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Bomb hoax at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute

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Saturday, May 23, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Bomb hoax at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute

Staff Reporter

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

Painful: Patients and their attendants had a tough time following a hoax bomb call to L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD: Panic struck the busy L.V. Prasad Eye Institute here in Banjara Hills on Friday morning when a bomb hoax had patients and their kin running helter-skelter. Around 11.45 a.m. the management was alerted over a bomb threat call received at the police control room. The call turned out to be hoax an hour later, but caused much consternation to the patients.

Hospital staff immediately evacuated the outpatients and inpatients also as bomb disposal squads arrived there by noon.

The abrupt evacuation caused trouble for those who came from other districts. One of the attendants Santhamma from Warangal was left stranded as her relatives (inpatients) were inside. Her daughter who was operated in the eye was recuperating in the hospital when the hoax call came.

“She is inside and I don’t even know how she is,” Santhamma lamented clutching her granddaughter in one hand. “Has the bomb gone off,” she worriedly enquired this reporter seeing the pandemonium outside. Similar was the case with K. Venkateshwarulu from Guntur who accompanied his friend for a surgery. “I searched for him among the crowd that came outside, but could not find him. I don’t know how to reach him as we do not have mobile phones,” he said, trying to carry two bags in hand.

Some of the patients seem to have directly come to the hospital with their luggage.

“Whoever it was should not have done this, that too to a hospital where many patients are treated everyday,” said Malayya from Rasoolpura.

“They have to realise that patients like us are put to discomfort because of their actions,” said a visibly upset Appanna Krishna who came from Krishna district. “What do they derive by playing such stupid pranks?” Those who came from the districts pointed out that they may have to reschedule their journey and the difficulty involved in cancelling and re-booking tickets.

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