Work on health centre in Bandipora village remains stalled

Bandipora, Nov 7: The villagers of Madwan in Sumbal Sonawari sub division of north Kashmir's Bandipora district have lost hope of having a nearby health facility.

The New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC) which, villagers say, was sanctioned in 2010, has not been completed yet, due to lack of funds from the housing board.

"The construction first began in 2011 and continued for some time, but then the project witnessed long pauses in construction," village deputy sarpanch Ghulam Nabi Tailor told Greater Kashmir.

He said the contractor was not paid on time, which resulted in delays. Then came the 2014 floods and the work again halted, resuming in 2018.

The 2018 saw a "major portion of the building getting completed", but by the end of the year, the construction was again abandoned.

The villagers blamed the housing board for delaying the release of funds and not taking the contractor into confidence.

Due to this, the village head alleged that substandard material was used in the construction of the building, and with the passage of time.

From 2018 to 2022, the work remained halted and villagers would use the building and rooftop for sun-drying clothes, husked rice and vegetables.

"In 2022, the washrooms were constructed and the building was painted, but then again the construction was abandoned," Nabi added.

He said most of the internal works and related construction were still pending and there was no hope in sight that the health centre would be made operational anytime soon.

The villagers said they had willingly donated the land for the health centre, hoping for better health care.

The villagers said the ill equipped sub-centre in the village was not able to cater to the needs of the locals and even that was running in a PRI building.

"We have to travel 7 kilometers to avail basic health services, and the other inhabitants have to travel almost 15 kilometers," the deputy sarpanch added.

The villagers now request the concerned authorities to address the issue and work on the options to finish the construction of the health centre and make it functional for the villagers.