A sub-district hospital in Qaimoh village of Kulgam, ideated to relieve the patient inflow on existing infrastructure, has been under construction for the last 18 years.
The residents of the village rued negligence by authorities to complete the construction of the 50-bedded sub-district hospital. The official told The Kashmir Walla that the plan was ideated and approved in 2003 to enhance the capacity and huge patient inflow of the existing primary health center (PHC). Three years later, the construction started.
“Due to the lack of the facilities, patients are facing acute problems,” said Shahid Gulzar Bhat, a local resident of Qaimoh. “We demand the completion of the sub-district hospital as soon as possible. It is the need of the hour,” he added, citing the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Riyaz Ahmad, executive engineer R-B Kulgam told The Kashmir Walla that the construction is in full swing now to accommodate more patients. “Work on the 50-bedded new building with modern facilities is being undertaken at the cost of 19.32 crores rupee,” he said. “Out of that, a seven crore budget has been released and the building will be completed by March 2022.”
Block Medical Officer at the village, Abdul Gani said that in order to improve medical facilities in neglected areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the administration is upgrading the primary health center (PHC) at Qaimoh. “[The delay] shows the disturbing attitude of the authorities. The dispute between the landowner and court has also delayed the work for years,” he said.
