SRINAGAR: MLA Dr Bashir Veeri on Thursday commended the medical fraternity in Jammu and Kashmir for their dedication and service under challenging conditions. Speaking during the Assembly debate on grants for Health, Medical Education, School Education, and Higher Education departments, Dr Veeri highlighted the state’s progress in healthcare, surpassing national averages on key indicators.
He stressed the need to strengthen primary healthcare and enhance secondary-level capacity to allow tertiary institutions to focus on advanced research and specialised treatment. Dr Veeri called for the realisation of the late Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s vision of transforming SKIMS into a medical tourism hub while urging research into the rising cancer cases in the region.
The MLA also pushed for accountability in patient referrals to higher medical centres and advocated for the proper documentation of Lower Segment Caesarean Section (LSCS) procedures. Additionally, he requested the government to upgrade Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Bijbehara to a district-level speciality hospital and called for the enhancement of healthcare facilities along the Amarnath Yatra route, including the upgradation of the Srigufwara Primary Health Centre.
On the education front, Dr Veeri demanded university status for the South Kashmir campus of Kashmir University and urged the government to declare Government Degree College Anantnag as a deemed university. He emphasised the need for residential accommodations for faculty in all degree colleges and proposed the introduction of tourism as a subject at the 10+2 level with the creation of dedicated teaching posts.
