LAHORE - The teaching and other public hospitals of the City are finding it hard to dispose of hospital waste after the incinerator at the Childrens Hospital has went out of order, and the one established in private sector at the Shalamar Hospital does not have the capacity to treat such a huge quantity of waste produced by various hospitals. According to sources, tonnes of waste lying at various hospitals waiting to be treated at the only functional incinerator can pose serious threat to the health of patients at the hospitals and people in the surrounding areas because of possible toxic emissions from the waste. Besides the public hospitals, there are hundreds of private hospitals, health centres and clinics across the City producing high quantity of hospital waste, which is also being sent to the Shalamar Hospital for disposal. Medical experts believe if timely disposal of the waste is not done and matter not taken seriously, it will prove fatal and further the environmental pollution. It may be mentioned that the situation has aggravated to a dangerous extent especially at the teaching hospitals after the Shalamar Hospital administration increased rates for incineration of the waste, which are beyond the capacity of other hospitals. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter, some teaching hospitals called emergency meetings here the other day and took various steps to resolve the issue. The Mayo Hospital and Jinnah Hospital administrations have decided to purchase incinerators for installation on their own premises to avoid nuisance in future. It has also been learnt that as the public hospitals have no option other than to get facility of waste incineration from the Shalamar Hospital, so they ultimately made an agreement with it upon the given rate of Rs50 per kg for the disposal of the waste. Talking to The Nation the heads of all the teaching hospitals said that they had reached an agreement with the Shalamar Hospital for incineration of their hospital waste at Rs50 to Rs60 per kg. Mayo Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Zahid Pervez said that 300 kg waste was being sent daily for incineration, adding that the Mayo Hospital would pay Rs 50 per kg to the Shalamar Hospital administration. Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram said that the hospital was producing 380 kg waste daily. He said that solid waste management constituted for this purpose, was actively functioning and situation was quite under control. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Additional Medical Superintendent (AMS) Dr Rauf Ahmad told this scribe that efforts were being made for the installation of new incinerator in the hospital. He said that it was the high time for the teaching hospitals to install their own incinerators to avoid further financial burden. Punjab Institute of Cardiology Medical Superintendent Dr Capt (r) Ghulam Shabbir said that 200 kg waste was being sent to the Shalamar Hospital for disposal at Rs 60 per kg. He informed that earlier the hospital was shifting waste to the Childrens Hospital where the incineration facility was absolutely free. The Services Hospital and Lahore General Hospital administrations are also collecting 200 kg waste each respectively which is also being removed to the Shalamar Hospital.