*Delay derails disease control ambitions in J&K
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, June 23: Despite much fanfare around the Centre’s ambitious plan to establish 22 new branches of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) across the country post-COVID, the proposed NCDC branch at Kot Bhalwal in Jammu has made negligible headway in over three years.
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Announced as a major public health initiative aimed at improving disease surveillance and rapid response in the Union Territory, the project remains largely confined to paperwork. Official sources revealed to Excelsior that apart from the formal transfer of 8 kanals of land in 2024 and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NCDC and the J&K Government a month ago, no meaningful progress has taken place.
Even the basic step of fencing the allocated land is yet to begin-an indicator of the bureaucratic inertia surrounding the project. The site, located at the premises of the old Sub District Hospital in Kot Bhalwal, remains unchanged, with the dilapidated hospital structure still standing.
Sources confirmed that while a Central team had earlier inspected the site and found it suitable, the promised infrastructure-envisioned as a modern facility for testing viruses like Nipah, Zika, Rabies, Covid-19, and others-remains a distant dream.
“There is talk of an MoU being signed soon with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to begin construction after demolishing the old hospital building, but even that remains on paper for now,” said a senior Health official on condition of anonymity.
The project was meant to enhance the UT’s ability to diagnose and manage emerging and re-emerging diseases, train public health professionals, and set up a 24×7 disease monitoring unit. But with repeated delays and absence of visible groundwork, the proposal appears to be languishing in a state of official neglect.
While other States have moved ahead with their NCDC branches-some even operational-Jammu’s project serves as a grim reminder of how grand health initiatives can be stalled by administrative sluggishness and lack of political urgency.
The broader objective of strengthening the disease surveillance network seems to be taking a back seat in Jammu, raising concerns about preparedness for future public health emergencies.
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