Machil residents hold protest against inadequate health facilities

Kupwara, Nov 25: Scores of people Monday assembled in Machil to protest against lack of proper health facilities in the area which, they said, was resulting in hardships to them.

While referring to Sunday’s incident in which a female gave birth to a child on roadside, the protesters alleged that the incident took place due to callous attitude of the Health Department.

They castigated Health officials for misleading the government that proper health facilities were put in place in Machil sector.

The protesters said that almost twenty thousand people were suffering badly due to lack of proper health facilities in the area, still nothing was being done to upgrade the facilities.

“Although the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Duddi was established several years ago, lack of staff and other facilities have always been a great discomfort for them. The concerned authorities are watching our sufferings as mute spectators,” said a protestor, Habibullah.

They complained that the health centre was inadequately staffed due to which patient care had been badly hit. “Although a dental chair worth eight lakh rupees was installed here but dental doctor has never been deputed in spite of the available post here”.

They complained that in absence of X-ray and proper diagnostic testing facilities, patients were forced to visit Sub District Hospital Kupwara or GMC Handwara by traveling over sixty kilometres.

“Pregnancy care has also been hit badly due to non-availability of a gynecologist at PHC Duddi with the result women of our area face severe hardships especially during winters when Kupwara-Machil road remains closed for several days,” said another protestor Habibullah Tantray of Chontiwari Payeen.

He said that Machil, which consists of eleven panchayats, remains cut off from district headquarters more often during winters because of heavy snowfall due to which people tend to face immense health related hardships.

“During winters when the road remains cutoff that is when people face most of the brunt here and patients are being carried on stretchers by covering several kilometers,” said another protestor.

The protesters said that they have brought these issues into the notice of concerned officials numerous times but nothing concrete has been done in this regard so far.

They said that they had high hopes with the LG administration of getting improved healthcare facilities but nothing like that happened. They have now sought immediate intervention of Health Minister Sakeena Itoo in this regard so that their hardships may end. They demanded a gynaecologist be posted at PHC Duddi so that “at least pregnant women be taken care of.”