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| Can No 1 tag hide 'true picture' of health sector in J&K | | | KUNAL SHRIVATSA
JAMMU, Nov 2: It is indeed an irony that a state where two of the premier government health institutions are being administered on ad-hoc basis while a Medical College is allegedly on the verge of de-recognition for want of faculty was tagged as No 1 State in the health sector.
After receiving the 'prestigious' award at the 'India Today' conclave held yesterday at New Delhi, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah must be in an upbeat mood and basking in the glory, however, his political rivals in the state called pot shots against him and the coalition government for the alleged poor condition of the health sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
While expressing grave concern over felicitating the Chief Minister by 'India Today', the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader and MLA Jammu East Ashok Khajuria came all guns blazing against the Chief Minister for alleged poor state of health services in J&K.
Addressing media persons here today, Ashok Khajuria said, "Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H), Jammu and Government Dental College Jammu are run by adhoc Principals…. GMC&H, Jammu and Srinagar Medical Colleges are at the verge of de-recognition by Medial Council of India as both lack the required medical faculty."
Another major area of concern for Khajuria and several others like him is not only the inadequate staff and administrative heads in premier helath institutions but the inordinate delay in completion of much-talked about Super Specialty Hospital in Jammu which is yet to be thrown open for general public despite setting various deadlines.
"Work on Super Specialty Hospital in Jammu is at snail's pace still India Today declares J&K as number one state in health sector… One cannot understand as to what prompted India Today to give such a title to Jammu and Kashmir which has the distinction of being most corrupt state in the country," he asserted.
Ashok Khajuria's allegations related to the health sector particularly the delay in Super Specialty project are not in isolation, it is pertinent to mention here that various organizations including the Student Scholar Joint Action Committee (SSJAC) of Jammu University and Kranti Dal have raised the issue from time to time.
SSJAC activists while addressing a press conference here on October 12 last expressed serious concerns over the delay in Super Specialty Hospital, Jammu which it described still a distant dream for Jammuites courtesy sheer 'apathy' and 'negligence' on the part of the authorities.
Indicating that the state is grappled with plethora of problems related to infrastructure development, the BJP leader said that the health centres situated just 8 to 10 kms away from the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar do not have required infrastructure and trained man power. "The condition of the government hospitals and dispensaries in rural areas is bad to the extent that the patients are left with no other option but to rush to private clinics or Government Hospitals in Jammu city," Khajuria maintained
Alleging that the award is nothing but handiwork of India Today in connivance with Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to make a failed attempt to mislead the people of the state, BJP stalwart sought parameters and the sources from 'India Today' it utilized to grant the status of No. 1 state to J&K in health sector.
Going by the assertions of Ashok Khajuria, one could only perceive that the award bestowed to the state of Jammu and Kashmir by a news magazine cannot hide the weak links existing in the health sector of the state. |
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