Keran residents demand Gynaecologist at NTPHC amid winter hardships

Kupwara, Oct 12: Residents of the snowbound Keran area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have reiterated their demand for the posting of a gynaecologist at the New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC), citing severe hardships faced by expectant mothers in the region.

Currently, the absence of a specialist forces residents to travel over 60 kilometres to Kupwara for maternal healthcare. During periods of heavy snowfall, the Keran sector often remains isolated from the district headquarters for several days, placing pregnant women in particularly vulnerable situations.

“Several women in the past have had to be airlifted from Keran after developing complications. On one occasion, a woman went into labour while the Kupwara-Keran road was blocked. Gynaecologists in Kupwara guided doctors at NTPHC Keran via WhatsApp, and fortunately, the delivery was successful,” said former BDC Keran, Mohammad Syed.

Residents emphasised that repeated appeals to authorities for deputing a gynaecologist, at least twice a week, have gone unheeded. “We have approached the authorities from pillar to post to have this genuine demand fulfilled, but nothing has been done so far. We are fed up and have lost hope of seeing a gynaecologist at our hospital,” said one local.

They have urged the immediate intervention of Health Minister Sakina Itoo to address the long-standing maternal healthcare challenges and alleviate the hardships faced by residents in the snowbound area.