Residents rue lack of facilities, staff at NTPHC Budnamal in Kupwara

Kupwara, June 30: Nazir Ahmad, a local from Budnamal area of Kupwara Sunday morning boarded a passenger vehicle along with his father to get him treated in Kupwara.

He has been visiting New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC) Budnamal for the last three days but the condition of his father has been consistently deteriorating.

The pharmacist at NTPHC Budnamal suggested Nazir take his father to Sub District Hospital Kupwara so that he can be properly examined and treated there.

Nazir on de-boarding the vehicle paid Rs 500 fare to the driver and rushed towards SDH Kupwara with his father.

This is not the tale of Nazir only but of every household living in the border area Budnamal in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.

Five years back when Budnamal health centre was upgraded to New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC), the people had high hopes of getting improved health facilities but nothing like that happened, even authorities failed to depute a doctor here due to which people continue to suffer and are forced to visit Kupwara by travelling over fifty kilometers for treatment.

“We have now lost the hope of getting better health facilities after knocking at the door of every concerned official. At the time, our health centre was upgraded to NTPHC, we were told that proper staff along with machinery would be installed here but nothing like that happened in the following years. Even the hospital is running in an old damaged school building posing threat to the staff and patients and nothing is being done regarding construction of a new building for the hospital,” Naseer Ahmad Lone, a local told this correspondent during a recent trip to Budnamal.

“Leave the diagnostic facilities, even the hospital lacks an ambulance which really tells upon the locals. At the time of any medical emergency we are forced to book a private cab and pay over Rs 2000 to shift the patients to Sub District Hospital (SDH) Kupwara or District Hospital Handwara,” he added.

“During winters our area remains cut off from district headquarters for several weeks and during that time whenever any medical emergency arises we are forced to shoulder the patient on makeshift cot by covering over 10 kilometers to reach Baby Top from where we board vehicles,” said another local.

The residents said that they were unable to figure out why authorities were reluctant to depute doctors here. “We have been moving from pillar to post to get our genuine grievance redressed but to no avail,” they added.