by Sheikh Mustafa
SRINAGAR: More than 15 years after the foundation stone was laid, the construction of the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Lachipora will still take time to complete. Residents said it is a crisis for them as the key infrastructure is not getting readied.
“This shows their inefficiency,” said a resident Farooq Ahmad Mughal.
This PHC could serve more than five villages namely Lachipora A and B, Dazna, Mayan, Braripora, which cumulatively have around 2000 households and 8000 people.
“The hospital should have been given the priority as this is an emergency service due to its absence we especially the residents of Gawas and Jala suffer immensely as we don’t have road facilities we have to walk with bear feet for than 7 km for a medical check-up,” Mohammed Maqbool Sheikh, another resident, said. “We always keep crying but nobody listens to this God-forsaken village.”
The PHC is presently located in a building that is in a shambles. It also lacks adequate medical staff, probably because nobody wants to serve this hospital. So the people go to Bijhama, Boniyar or Baramulla hospitals for specialized treatment.
The PHC Lachipora was approved under a central government scheme meant for the development of border areas.
Locals said they persistently approached Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, and BMO Boniyar on several occasions, urging them to direct for resuming work of the hospital but they always made a numb response over time.
BMO Boniyar Dr Pervaiz Masoodi said lack of funds hampered the work on the building. “As soon as funds are released the work would be completed,” he said.
