Machil residents rue absence of gynecologist

Kupwara, Oct 30: Residents of the Machil sector in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are expressing their frustration at the authorities for failing to post a gynecologist at the Primary Health Centre in Duddi.

As a result, pregnancy care has been severely impacted, and residents claim that the authorities are doing nothing to address the issue.

The residents have been grappling with the lack of a gynecologist in the area for several decades, leading to significant hardships. They explained that, given the area’s heavy snowfall, they are forced to travel over fifty kilometers to reach Kupwara.

“During heavy snowfall, Machil remains cut off from the district headquarters for several days, which means pregnant women bear the brunt of the situation because traffic on the Kupwara-Machil road is suspended for long periods,” a local, Habibullah, told Greater Kashmir.

“In medical emergencies during winter, we are forced to carry pregnant women to reach Zamindar Gali (Z-Gali), covering over twenty kilometers, and from there we take a passenger cab to Kupwara,” he added.

“Several pregnant women have lost their lives in the past due to the lack of timely treatment, yet the authorities have not assigned a specialised gynecologist here,” another resident told Greater Kashmir.

“The unmarried young girls in our area are unable to disclose their medical complications due to the absence of a gynecologist in the entire Machil sector,” he added.

“We have moved from pillar to post to have our genuine demands met, but nothing has been done so far. We have requested the concerned authorities numerous times to send a gynecologist at least twice a week, but our demands remain unfulfilled. We are now fed up and have lost hope of seeing a gynecologist at our hospital,” the residents stated.

The residents are seeking the immediate intervention of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to alleviate the hardships faced by the community.