KL Report
SRINAGAR
J&K Bank, State’s principal financial institution continues critical interventions in the public life taking the corporate social responsibility (CSR) route. In its latest, the bank donated six ambulances to the Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar and its associated hospitals including Bones & Joints, SMHS and Lala Ded Hospital.
At a simple but impressive function in the GMC, Bank’s Chairman and CEO Mushtaq Ahmad handed over the keys of the ambulances to the Principal GMC Srinagar Dr Rafiq Ahmad Pampori. The bank’s Executive President, Parvez Ahmad, Senior President Abdul Rauf Bhat, President M S Wani, senior doctors and senior officers of the bank were also present on the occasion.
“Development of any society can either be measured in terms of its health or its education. We at J&K Bank have therefore decided to focus primarily on the development of these two critical sectors through our comprehensive CSR plans,” Mushtaq Ahmad said in his speech. “Since the well-being of J&K people remains at the core of our philosophy and operations, I have prioritized the health sector in our CSR policy because of the growing needs in our society. During the floods we organized scores of medical camps and distributed free medicines there to mitigate the sufferings of flood affected people. Also during Platinum Jubilee year we organized 75 medical camps for the benefit of poor and needy in far flung areas of the state.”
Mushtaq said since the infrastructure of J&K took a severe hit during the last-year floods, the Bank felt these ambulances shall considerably improve the accessibility to the hospital services especially for the poor and needy from distant areas.
Responding to the request made by Dr Rafiq Ahmad Pampori for a generous help towards the SMHS Welfare Trust that has been established to take care of needy patients admitted in the SMHS hospital, Chairman announced contribution of Rs 5 lacs from the bank to the Fund. We feel contented to channelize this help through this foremost public health institution, he added.
“We receive these ambulances with respect and gratitude. We assure you that the fleet shall bring definitely a big relief for our patients coming from far off places and will be great support to tertiary health care”, Principal Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Rafiq Ahmad Pampori, said.
This is not for the first time that the Bank has contributed towards the well being of the medical services in the state. Last year, the bank donated five state of the art dialysis machines to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for free use of patients suffering from renal failure. Besides, the Bank donated Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) and Colour Doppler Ultrasound (CDU) machines to the institute also.
Earlier, the bank also provided GMC and Super Specialty Hospital Jammu with specialised life saving treatment machines including Computed Radiography (CR System), five Multi-para Monitors and Boyles Apparatus (Anesthesia Machine).
These contributions are over and above the routines of its association with the state government for various welfare issues. The Bank is continuing its yearly exercise of printing the ration cards for the CAPD consumers. In this regard a meeting of the Bank executives and the CAPD minister Choudhary Zulfikar Ali took place yesterday in which it was decided that the bank will, this year, print 28 lakh new rations cards as is the requirement of the government for the current fiscal as per the 2011 census.
These cards are being printed in Urdu, Hindi and English languages for the convenience of consumers. The minister suggested the cards be printed category-wise in different colours red for APL, green for BPL, blue for AAY families, yellow for non-ration card holders and orange for Annapurana with hologram. District wise serial numbers would also be printed on the ration cards.
