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| Announced over 8 years back, SDH Pahalgam nowhere in sight | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, Oct 9; The 50-bedded Sub-District hospital Pahalgam, which was announced over eight (8) years back by former Union Health Minister, remains an unrealized dream although the Building Operation and Control Authority (BOCA) of Pahalgam Development Authority has given permission for its construction. According to reports, former Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the up-gradation of community health center (CHC) to Sub-district Hospital and ordered the construction of 50 bedded hospital. However, eight years later, the executing agency hasn’t yet started the construction of the hospital.
Chief Medical Officer Anantnag Dr Mukhtar Ahmad told Early Times that construction work will start once the department clarifies what he called ‘confusion’.
“We have received administrative approval for the construction of a 50- bedded hospital but normally all the Sub District level hospitals have just 30 beds. So we have written to the department and the department too has written to the Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education. The construction work will start once we get this clarified,” CMO Anantnag said.
However his Deputy Director denied having any such ‘confusion’ and said that the hospital will be constructed as per the administrative approval. “Its 50 bedded hospital and there is no confusion in it,” Dr Bashir Ahmad Chalkoo told Early Times over Phone. He however claimed that Building Operation and Control Authority (BOCA) have raised certain issues and it was because of that the construction work hadn’t started yet. “BOCA has raised some issues and it is getting delayed because of that,” Dr Chalkoo said and dropped the call.
Chief Executive Officer Pahalgam Development Authority, Mushtaq Ahmad Simnani on being contacted denied to have raised any objection. “We have issued the permission for the construction of the hospital and they are free to start the work,” Mushtaq Ahmad Simnani, who is also the member secretary of BOCA, told Early Times.
The R&B department officials also said that they too have sought clarification from the health department.
“I myself visited the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir and sought clarification from them whether the hospital they intend to construct through our department is of 30 beds or 50 beds,” Assistant Executive Engineer R&B Pahalgam said this reporter over phone.
The local residents in Pahalgam and its adjacent villages are up in arms against the health department for inordinate delay in the construction of the hospital.
At the moment, the residents said that the department has deputed just one doctor at Community Health Center (CHC) at Pahalgam to look after thousands of people. “During summers the department deploys dozens of doctors at Pahalgam hospital mostly during the Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage but once it is over the department closes a number of services even keeping just one doctor for Pahalgam and its adjacent villages,” locals said and sought the intervention of LG Manoj Sinha.
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