AIIMS Awantipora – Need of the Hour!
When flocks of patients come all the way from the cliffs of south Kashmir to SKIMS, one question arises: does south Kashmir lack a major medical facility to serve its people? Patients’ ingress into the valley’s premier institution, SKIMS, has resulted in IV poles spilling into corridors, crowding near washrooms, and lines stretching to USG and ECG rooms—with patients crammed shoulder-to-shoulder. Hardly a corner remains patient-less. SKIMS’ emergency and Oncology’s day-care ward stand as daily proof.
In 2019, the central government sanctioned the opening of two AIIMS: one at Vijapur in Jammu and other at Awantipora in Srinagar— though both had been conceived as early as 2015. No doubt both hold merit and importance in the regional context. Yet, while Jammu AIIMS raced ahead, its counterpart lagged behind; slowed by delayed descriptions attributed to labor shortages, disputes over land acquisition, Article 370’s fallout, and complications with a nearby army base.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated AIIMS Jammu in 2024. Today, the institute is fully functional with 750 beds, a patient-centric and evidence-based-healthcare model, and a strong base in medical education, research, and patient care: the pillars of AIIMS Jammu—standing firmly in place. Recruitment of faculty and staff has already brought relief to Jammu’s patients, who now access quality treatment closer to home.
The contrast is stark for south Kashmir. This winter again, the patients from Awantipora, Anantnag, and Kulgam will traverse snowy roads in freezing cold to crowd into the already overwhelmed premises of SKIMS. The promise that the AIIMS Awantipora – conceived the same year as its Jammu counterpart – will be functional by November 2025 seems unlikely given the current pace of work.
In six years, the institute has reached only sixty-one percent physical progress across 57 blocks. Meanwhile, its counterpart in Jammu is treating patients with the advanced facilities. The gap cries out for urgent acceleration.
This imbalance is especially troubling because Kashmir’s population far exceeds Jammu’s: 6 million versus 7.5 million (News Laundry). With the rise of life-threatening illnesses like carcinomas (Kupwara tops Jammu and Kashmir in smoking) and frequent emergencies arising out of fire, water, and accidents, quality care is not a luxury but a basic expectation people have on policymakers and implementers alike.
Delays, genuine or otherwise, are meaningless to patients battling lung cancer, say, who need surgery within weeks. Patients are suffering, not only because of SKIMS-induced inefficiencies (though they exist in plenty), but also because of the long, punishing journeys they must take, often before dawn, only to wait for the next five hours for a consultation.
Imagine if half the patients didn’t have to crowd into SKIMS. Imagine the other half received pressure-less treatment at Awantipora. The relief is easy to picture. Many would gladly turn to AIIMS Awantipora for timely and professional care.
It would also mean no more shifting of departments from one cramped room to another sans any substantial substance and utility. More importantly, it would also mean genuine welfare for the people of Kashmir. For them, AIIMS Awantipora is not just a project but a deferred lifeline.
Until it’s completed, the suffering will continue.
