Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Aug 25: The people from Mendhar area are facing lot of problems as the 17 posts of doctors are lying vacant in Mendhar block. Even the posts of surgeons and anesthesia doctor in sub-district hospital Mendhar were also not filled up since long.
Reports said that Mendhar sub division has a population of more than 2 lakh and there is only one hospital located in the town, that too is suffering due to shortage of doctors and paramedical staff.
Official sources said that there are a total of 31 posts of Medical officers/ doctors in Mendhar block, while only 14 posts of doctors are filled up, the remaining 17 posts are still vacant. The posts of Anesthesia and Surgeon are also vacant in Sub District Hospital, Mendhar.
Local residents- Balram Sharma, Ghulam Nabi and Shariq Khan said that Mendhar Sub-Division is a frontier area where before the ceasefire, there was continuous shelling from across the border LOC, in which many people lost their lives and many others got injured. They said that the main reason was the deprivation of health facilities and shortage of doctors.
They said that in the Sub District Hospital of Mendhar, a large number of patients from remote and border areas come to get treatment for their diseases, but due to shortage of doctors and surgeons, they either have to go to the Medical College Rajouri or in Jammu. In such a situation, people are suffering a lot due to shortage of doctors, they added.
The people of the area have urged the Director Health Services Jammu and the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory to fill up the vacant posts of doctors in Mendhar Block.
Block Medical Officer Mendhar Dr Parvez Ahmed Khan when contacted said a few days ago, Director Health Services had a visit to Rajouri Poonch, in which he also visited Mendhar where people met him and raised this issue. Dr Parvez said he also projected the demand to fill up the posts of doctors. The director assured that demand regarding vacant posts will be fulfilled shortly, he added.
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