Jammu and Kashmir govt allocates Rs 86 crore for construction of 250-bed MCCH in Anantnag
Anantnag, March 7: The Jammu and Kashmir government has allocated Rs 86 crore for the construction of a 250-bed Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) in Anantnag.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced on Friday that the new facility will be established within the premises of Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital at Janglat Mandi, Anantnag.
Currently, maternity and child care services are provided at a facility in the congested Sherbagh area, which has long been deemed unsafe by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department and Fire and Emergency Services since 2014.
Despite its deteriorating condition, the hospital remains the primary choice for expectant mothers and newborns, handling over 40,000 Out-Patient Department (OPD) visits and around 7,000 in-patient admissions each month.
Originally designed for just 40 beds, the existing maternity ward operates far beyond capacity, with only two labour wards, four surgical wards, and a single operation theatre to accommodate the increasing patient load.
At times, two to three patients are forced to share a single bed, significantly raising the risk of infections and medical complications.
The poor hygiene conditions in the wards and operating rooms have contributed to high rates of cross-infections.
The safety concerns surrounding the current facility remain.
In the last two months of 2024 alone, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) witnessed two electrical short circuits, though both were contained before causing major damage.
In 2015, a fire partially damaged the OPD, leading to a temporary relocation to the then District Hospital premises at Janglat Mandi.
However, political intervention resulted in the facility being shifted back to the unsafe building within a day.
Another fire incident in March 2022, caused by a gas leakage at the ticket counter, left 12 people, including two children, injured.
Efforts to relocate the facility have faced road-blocks.
In 2015, the government proposed shifting the hospital to Rehamat-i-Alam Hospital on KP Road, which was previously managed by a local trust. While Rs 13 crore was spent on constructing the top two floors of the building, the plan was abandoned after an IIT Jammu safety assessment found that the structure did not meet post-2005 earthquake safety standards.
The institute recommended retrofitting and reinforcing the vital beams of the older floors, built two decades ago by the trust, at an estimated cost of Rs 8 crore. However, the proposal was eventually shelved.
