Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Apr 28: Presenting a gloomy picture of rural healthcare, humans and cattle receive treatment under one roof in Akoora hamlet of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
In a glaring example of official apathy, the Veterinary Unit and the Primary Health Centre have been clubbed together in a building and spillover of infection from cattle to people remains an ever-increasing possibility.
Both the departments share the ground floor of a two-storey building with a common veranda. There is no separate entrance and both cattle and humans walk together inside the building to get treatment. “In our villages, the people are treated like cattle. Otherwise, what is the fun of putting both facilities in one roof,” Ghulam Mohammad, a local asked?
Chief Medical Officer, Mukhtar Ahmad, said the reason behind this odd clubbing was due to unavailability of the space in the area. “It was an emergency step. These are temporary arrangements. We will reconsider it,” he said.
The move has discouraged the residents, particularly women, to visit the facility. “Who would visit a place where you have to make way through cattle. People with oxen and cows visit the palace, making it shabby and crowded. It is awkward for women to visit such facility,” Hajira, a woman said, adding that the facility has been reduced to a cattle shed over the last four years.
To make things worse for the people, there is no gynaecologist; no dentist, no nurses and only a couple of people with multiple roles have been appointed to carry out all the functions. X-ray machine, Electrocardiogram is unavailable, with people alleging that a single defunct microscope is not there to carry out the basic tests. Emergency drugs are also not available. “We have no option but to treat people here. We have written to the Health Department for the last several months but they failed to address our issues,” an official at the Health Centre said.
The Centre covers nearly five villages with a population of 5000 and it is supposed to function from 8 am to 3 pm. But staff shortage has hindered services, leaving the Centre useless and some services that are supposed to be provided – such as diagnosis and health awareness, lab services – undelivered.
Operating under a makeshift building, Primary Health Centre is awaiting new building from the last eight years. The construction process has been allegedly moving at a snail’s pace and that has added to the miseries of the people. “The construction work did not move at even pace and faced stoppages every now and then. They did not bother about the people of the villages. We are facing hardships in the absence of the healthcare facilities,” Showkat Ahmad, a local said.
Chief Medical Officer Anantnag, Mukhtar Ahmad, when contacted said: “The new building is near its completion and we will shift the hospital within one week. Minor finishing works are pending,” he said.
Asked why it took eight years to complete the building, the CMO said there was a shortage of funds earlier. Now, the funding issue is not there and we will shift it in one week,” he said.
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