Kashmir’s farthest district, Kupwara, spread over 2400 square kilometers approximately, has no maternity hospital. Its 10 lakh residents face poor health facilities for mother and child, often requiring referrals and involving risks in the difficult terrain.
The population has appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to establish a maternity and child care hospital in Kupwara town.
The residents said that establishment of maternity and child care hospital at District Headquarters Kupwara ‘is need of the hour’. “People from snowbound areas like Machil, Keran, Tanghdar, Jumagund, Budnamal, Kumkadi and several other areas are the most affected people and by establishing a special maternity and child care hospital at Kupwara, it will bring much needed relief to the people,” Abdul Ahad, a local told Greater Kashmir.
“It will be a relief for the high risk pregnancies that are referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Handwara or LD Srinagar. Even people from plain areas suffer due to lack of better pregnancy care at District Headquarters Kupwara,” he added.
A doctor posted in Medical Block Kupwara said that the move will be a relief for patients and will help to decrease the referral rate. “The travel from Kupwara to Srinagar is tiresome for pregnant women as ambulances remain stuck in traffic jams for hours. Most of the patients who turn to government hospitals can’t bear the travel expenses so establishment of this facility is need of the hour,” he added.
The residents said that they have been raising this issue for the last several decades but according to them every dispensation has failed to deliver with regard to establishing the hospital. They have now appealed J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and MLA Kupwara Mir Fayaz to take a call on this pressing issue.
Meanwhile MLA Kupwara Mir Fayaz while reacting on this issue, said that he has raised this issue in Assembly consistently over the past three sessions but nothing has been done so far in this regard. “I even led a delegation of Kupwara civil society to meet CM Omar Abdullah in this regard but the CM’s promise did not yield anything yet,” he added.
“I remember CM Omar Abdullah saying in Kupwara before government formation that if his party comes into power, Kupwara will get a super-specialty hospital but even that promise has turned out to be a hoax,” Mir added.
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