Reports are that the District Anantnag administration is mulling the idea of closing the Sub District Hospital and shifting its staff to the newly constructed Model Hospital in Dooru area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag District. As the rumours have spread out, tension seems to be brewing in the area on account of differences between the local people and the district administration. The confusion is made worse by the Government not coming out clearly what it intends to do about the situation. Reportedly the building of the new Model Hospital is now complete and all requirements are provided but its inauguration remains delayed for last five months because of the prevailing tension between the local people and the district administration. According to local authorities, the hospital was in a dilapidated condition and posed a threat to human life. As such the staff and equipment had to be shifted to the new hospital in the same complex. However, the version of the people is something else. Their contention is that shutting down one hospital and building the other will serve no purpose.
It is regrettable that the building of the new hospital is ready and all the equipment necessary for a hospital has been procured and put in place but the inauguration of the hospital is delayed so long. It should not happen and the people need to be convinced that whatever the Government is doing is being done with larger interests of the people in mind. We propose that the district authorities should call a meeting of the Health Services functionaries and prominent citizens and help them come to a final solution of the tangle. No time should be wasted in resolving the issue.