Bird droppings turn Bandipora district hospital’s abandoned elevator system into breeding ground for infections

Bandipora, Jun 17: The Bandipora District Hospital (DH) elevator system in north Kashmir has turned into a breeding ground for infections, leaving patients exposed to risks beyond measure.

Notably, the three shafts meant for lift spaces — which have been covered with plywood to avoid fatal falls — have now become home to crows and pigeons.   At the same time, concerned authorities continue to rely on the mercy of higher-ups for whom Bandipora seems a least priority, locals complain.

According to officials, the DH has three elevator spaces. Two are to be constructed by the Mechanical Department while one opens into the operation theatre falling under the Housing Board’s authority, responsible for hospital construction— a project that has remained incomplete for several years. Moreover, wide gaps that have long appeared in the multi-storey concrete structure not only pose serious safety risks but provide additional space for birds to breed, as fears of the structure falling apart loom large. Adding to the mess, the hospital’s trenches are overflowing, leaving the backyard of the hospital in a smelly cesspool. The stench, according to patients and attendants, further compromises the patients care, despite efforts to keep the inside of the hospital premises clean. It should be noted that although the hospital has been granted district status, its staffing capacity, officials have said, still is not at par with even a sub-district hospital, impacting normal operations from cleaning to post-operative patient care.

“The lift system is genuinely needed here, as patients requiring surgery have to climb to the top floor. It’s extremely tiring, especially for the elderly,” an official associated with the Mechanical unit admitted.  “Apart from that, a central heating system is equally important. Without it, patients, attendants and staff are left to battle freezing temperatures during winter, which badly affects post-surgical recovery and patient safety.” This reporter witnessed elderly people struggling to climb the wheelchair ramp, taking several halts to catch their breath — a heartbreaking sight.

Those taking the stairs face an equally gruelling challenge. Attendants too are left fraught, forced to go to and fro gathering medicines from the ground floor for post-surgical care or for patients admitted to in-patient wards on the top floors. “Going up and down several times is not an easy task. It breaks your back and adds to the toll of already overwhelmed close ones or attendants caring for patients here,” Aijaz Ahmad, an attendant, told Greater Kashmir.

The hospital began functioning at its present location in November 2020. However, even after all these years, authorities have failed to make the lift system and central heating functional — much to the inconvenience of patients and staff alike. Moreover, the hospital's construction "flaws" have also remained in the headlines. The Mechanical & Hospital Sub-Division Department, established in 2023 to make the hospital technically capable, submitted a Rs 4.37 crore DPR to higher-ups in November 2024 for the construction of the lift and heating system. However, approval has been pending at the Directorate.

Officials informed that with the emergence of a new COVID wave, emphasis was instead placed on making oxygen plants functional. “We had submitted around Rs 11 lakh proposal for the extension of pipelines in the hospital, and that has been approved,” Assistant Executive Engineer, M&H Subdivision Bandipora, Sheikh Bilal, told Greater Kashmir. He confirmed submitting the DPR for the lift and central heating system but the government seems to have sidelined the proposal for the time being due to a fund crunch. The AEE added that higher-ups at the Directorate informed them they had already proposed a lift system “for all hospitals to the government for approval.” When asked about the already submitted DPR, the AEE said it included the heating system as well — which is equally necessary — and that they would resubmit it if required.