Bandipora villagers await functional health facility for over 5 years

Bandipora, June 2: The Chandaji villagers in north Kashmir's Bandipora are fuming over a non-functional Primary Health Centre (PHC) despite the construction being completed years ago.

The locals say despite repeated requests to the concerned authorities "no one was taking heed to make the facility functional".

The villagers said being remote and isolated, moving out of the village to seek treatment for minor ailments was cumbersome and that a health facility with proper equipment and doctors could bring some "ease" to their already tough lives.

"This village is uphill and very remote. For the elderly it is difficult to travel outside the village to seek treatment for minor ailments," Ghulam Nabi, a 50-year-old lamented.

Even though at present the village has a health facility, it functions in a rented room a kilometre from the habitation, villagers said.

Moreover, it lacks all the facilities from doctors to beds and medicine. The villagers said the facility was a "mere eyewash and serves no purpose".

The new facility, residents said, was constructed by the R&B department years ago and was completed in 2018.

Despite being complete for years, the villagers, however, said the structure is "crumbling without being used" for many years.

Tasleem Ahmad Khan, a villager who had offered 11 marlas of land for the construction of the building on promises of compensation and a job as a sweeper is also feeling distraught.

"The department at least should provide me the compensation for the land I gave for the construction," Khan said, adding he had "no hopes for the job now".

Yasir Ahmad, a local village activist, told Greater Kashmir that the grievances were genuine and that their village was facing challenges on many fronts in relation to development.

"The PHC was completed in 2018, since then it is lying deserted," Ahamd said.

"The villagers desperately need a proper health facility with doctors and basic health care equipment," Ahmad said, adding that the already available facility is "lacking in all means."