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| Five years on, Handwara children's hospital fails to take off | | Modern equipment rusting due to deficiency of staff | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 21: Despite tall promises, the special children's hospital established in memorial of the children killed in the Wullar tragedy five years back, has failed to live up to the promises made by the state government and Navy authorities. Leave alone the promises of making the hospital a specialized childcare hospital in north Kashmir, the authorities have not even been able to operate the hospital of 24x7 basis.
Pertinently, the hospital that was established in the year 2007 in the backdrop of the Wullar tragedy in which at least 20 children had died after a boat carrying the children had capsized in the middle of the lake.
According to parents of the ill fated children who died in the incident, the then Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad and Admiral Suresh Mehta, while inaugurating the hospital in July 2007 had promised that this would be north Kashmir's biggest and the most modern hospital as far as child healthcare issues are concerned. "They had also promised on the occasion that leading doctors from SKIMS and GMC Srinagar would visit the hospital so that the sick children from the north Kashmir don't have to referred to Srinagar", said one of the parents adding that despite the passage of five years the hospital has not even been operationalised on 24x7 basis.
"When there are only two doctors posted in the hospital, how can we expect it to be open after 4 pm in the evening", lamented the delegation of parents.
The parents also informed that the Navy has provided sufficient state of the art modern equipment for the hospital but due to deficiency of staff, this equipment is rusting because of non use. "Whenever Navy officers from Delhi visit the hospital, they are misled by the local authorities about its functioning", said an agitated father.
Locals have threatened to launch an agitation on the occasion of the death anniversary of the children on May 30 in case the authorities don't operationalised the hospital on 24x7 basis by then.
Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Sajjad Ahmad Beigh told KNS that there is fifty percent deficiency in the hospital and that he had many times written to the higher authorities about it.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sham Lal Sharma said that the issue has not come to his notice and that he will direct the Commissioner Secretary Health and the Director Health Services Kashmir to ensure that all problems regarding the hospital are sorted out at the earliest. "I will also direct the concerned officers to ensure 24x7 operation of the hospital so that the patient flow to G.B Pant hospital can be reduced", Sham said. |
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