KUPWARA DIARY: Awathkul Meelyal craves for better health care; PHC Wadipora lacks staff, people suffer

The residents of Awathkul Meelyal in north Kashmirs’ Kupwara district are grappling with lack of better health care facilities, resulting enduring hardships to them. The residents said that after the passage of several decades, successive dispensations have miserably failed to fulfill the demands of common masses. “Since we belong to heavy snow bound area and during winters it takes a heavy toll on us whenever there arises any medical emergency in our area,” a local told Greater Kashmir . “Due to limited public transport available in our area, most of the times we have to shoulder our patients on makeshift stretchers to reach the nearby health centre at Kralpora which happens to be 8 kilometers away from Awathkul,” another local said. “Since most of the people here belong to the labour class so hiring a private cab during medical emergencies really tells upon them,” he added. Residents demanded that a health centre be sanctioned at the earliest in their area so that people who have been suffering since long would get respite. They appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to directly look into the matter so that the long pending demand of people be fulfilled. PHC Wadipora lacks staff, better diagnostic facilities, people suffer Residents of Wadipora and its adjacent villages in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have said that lack of adequate staff and better diagnostic facilities at Primary Health Centre (PHC) Wadipora has been a concern for them for last several years but authorities were unmoved, instead were watching their miseries as mute spectators. The residents said that the hospital was established several years ago but it has never remained a priority for authorities. They said that the health centre lacks better health care facilities thus forcing locals to look for other alternatives with regard to their treatment. The failure...