Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Sept 3: The residents of Wagoora tehsil in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district are forced to travel long distances for healthcare as the facility which was set up in area five years ago is incomplete.
The residents said an alleged political indifference towards the people marred the project while as authorities maintained that the paucity of funds slowed the pace of work. In absence of the facility, locals said, they are forced to visit other hospitals where chances of catching the novel Coronavirus infection are higher.
The locals said nearly five years have passed since the Government announced the much-needed Health Center in their area, but political apathy has placed the whole initiative in tatters. “The major construction work on the building is complete, but the Government didn’t make it functional. They inaugurated it in 2005 but it’s still incomplete”, Tariq Ahmad, a local said.
He further said that Government’s failure to complete the construction work on time has annoyed the locals and made them believe that administration was unsympathetic towards the issue. “The gaps in the implementation of the program are clear but no one is ready to admit it,” he said.
The locals said they have often raised the issue with the authorities but their pleas went unheard. “We are unable to fathom the reasons behind this political indifference. Presently, the people of more than two dozen villages have to travel seven-eight kilometers for basic health care,” Sajad Ahmad, another local said.
While divulging details about the project, locals said former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed approved the construction of a hospital at Wagoora in 2015. But, the construction of the hospital building by the Roads and Buildings Department was left midway.
Locals said lack of access to healthcare has made both children and pregnant women susceptible to various diseases. “Women are the worst sufferers as they do not receive timely healthcare. After repeated requests, the Government sanctioned a Health Centre but official apathy has stalled the project,” locals said.
Assistant Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings Department, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, said the scarcity of funding has stalled the project. “We have a liability of around Rs 20 lakhs of contractors.
Almost 70% of the work is complete and pending work will resume after bills are cleared,” he said, adding they have asked the Government to place it under the languishing project and are awaiting approval.
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