Shopian residents demand construction of maternity cum children’s hospital

Shopian, Apr 14: With healthcare infrastructure under strain, residents of south Kashmir’s Shopian district have appealed to the government to turn a vacant parcel of land into a maternity-cum-children’s hospital. A large chunk of land has been lying vacant in Aarhama, Shopian, ever since the old fruit mandi was shifted to a new location.

The residents of the area have demanded that the parcel of land should be used for the construction of a medical facility.  “This land measures around 33 kanals and has been lying completely vacant since the construction of the Mega Fruit Mandi in Aglar village,” said Mitha Gatoo, a social activist.

He said that at least 70 growers made payments, each contributing Rs 25,000 to the authorities when the land was acquired decades ago for the construction of the Fruit Mandi.

Gatoo said that the residents had long been urging the government to construct a dedicated maternity-cum-children's hospital in the area to ease the growing patient load on the already overburdened district hospital.

“We have approached the Chief Secretary and several other key government officials regarding this pressing issue, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” Gatoo said. According to him, the current infrastructure at the district hospital is inadequate to handle the increasing number of maternity and pediatric cases, often leading to delays in treatment and patient referrals to far-off medical facilities. “A specialised facility would not only improve maternal and child healthcare but also bring much-needed relief to both patients and medical staff,” he added. Gatoo also pointed out that the district hospital is located in a congested area, and the recent addition of a critical care unit has further reduced the already limited space within the facility. A group of local residents said the land at Aarhama is not only spacious but also ideally located for the construction of the proposed healthcare facility.