Bandipora, Oct 22: A late-night operation to evict the District Drug De-addiction Centre and an adjacent old age home in north Kashmir’s Bandipora has drawn sharp criticism.
Medical staff have accused authorities of acting like thieves, while officials cite property disputes and unpaid rent.
Both facilities are operated by a local non-governmental organisation funded by the central Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, functioning locally under the Social Welfare Department. However, the premises belong to the health department and the municipal committee respectively.
The facilities were inaugurated just some years ago. The old age home opened in October 2022, followed by the de-addiction centre in February 2023. Both were inaugurated by then deputy commissioner of Bandipora Dr Owais Ahmad.
The closures occured when officials reportedly arrived under the cover of darkness, breaking locks and removing medical equipment, luggage and staff belongings. This left vulnerable patients arriving for treatment the following morning completely blindsided.
The human toll of the sudden eviction was starkly visible at the old age home.
“I was having dinner when some men came and told me to leave the premises immediately. They didn’t even let me finish my meal before forcing me out,” said Ghulam Mohammad, an elderly man sitting outside the home, who has been living at the facility for the past three years.
“They went upstairs, broke in, and started throwing furniture and belongings out of the windows. When I asked where I would go, they told me the administration hadn’t paid the rent and said they were not responsible for me.”
Dr Anjum, a medical officer at the de-addiction centre, expressed shock over the execution of the eviction. She confirmed no staff members or officials from the centre were notified or present during the night-time operation.
“It was a sudden action and no member of the centre was kept in the loop,” Dr Anjum said. “It was like a robbery. They came, broke the locks and brought all the luggage down. If the district administration will do these things, what can you expect from thieves?”
She added that while the health department may have a legal claim to the property, the method of reclaiming it was flawed.
“They are saying it is their building and they can take it, but you need to take it legally, not like thieves,” she said.
The closure has disrupted a critical healthcare lifeline in the district. The de-addiction centre has around 1,400 registered patients. Dr Anjum noted that patients arriving for scheduled outpatient treatments the next morning were forced to flee in distress upon finding the doors locked and operations suspended.
An official from the Municipal Committee Bandipora, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Greater Kashmir the old age home was evicted because the occupants had failed to pay rent since taking over the municipal property.
“It was given to them as a temporary accommodation, but they ended up occupying it permanently,” the official said.
He noted the rent was originally fixed at 17,000 rupees per month, but no official rent assessment was conducted over the years, leading to massive outstanding dues.
Defending the eviction of the de-addiction centre, Additional Deputy Commissioner Zaffar Shawal distanced the core district administration from the specific execution of the move, attributing the action directly to the health department.
He explained the premises originally housed the old district hospital, noting the health department reclaimed the building because they required the space for their own operational needs.
”The building was under the occupation of somebody else and they took it back,” he said, refusing to answer if the action was a departmental matter rather than a broader administrative directive.
Block Medical Officer Bandipora Dr Tahir Malik confirmed this, telling Greater Kashmir the health department was taking back its own property.
“Obviously, it was a government hospital, so the health department will occupy it,” Malik said.
When asked about the sudden, night-time execution, Malik declined to provide specific operational details, stating only that government procedure was followed and noting the wider dispute is now sub judice.
Repeated calls from Greater Kashmir to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Bhajan Kour, for further comment on the operation went unanswered.
Health workers and social staff are now scrambling to locate displaced equipment and secure alternative spaces to resume care for their stranded patients. “There is no place to stay put, neither has any information been shared with us,” Dr Anjum said.
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