Srinagar, Dec 13: A group of young people on Tuesday held a silent protest at Handwara seeking a separate paediatric hospital here.
The protestors assembled at the premises of District Hospital Handwara and sought a separate building for the paediatric hospital.
They said efforts are being made to set up these paediatric wards on the 3rd floor of the hospital building, despite having separate funds.
Aijaz Sofi, a protestor, told Rising Kashmir that people in the northern town have suffered badly in the last many years due to a space shortage, and we are expecting some relief after the completion of this new building.
“But if the paediatric wards were set up in a new hospital building, as many as three general wards would be affected, which would add to the misery of the common people.
“One fails to understand that if funds are available for new structures, then what forces them to club this hospital into the existing building?” If the same thing happened, there would be no relief for common people, Sofi said.
In the present infrastructure of the hospital, there is no medical or surgical ward, and patients are being forced to share the same bed in a single casualty ward.
Protesters said, “If the paediatric ward and ICU are added in place of the medical and surgical ward, then there will be a loss of these two important wards, which are pivotal for any hospital to get functional.”
“It’s difficult to understand why this project is being forced to adjust in an already funded hospital that has yet to open when the project has separate funds,” said Mudasir Ahmad, another protestor.
If there will be no medical and surgical ward in a hospital that is still under construction, what is the fun of having that hospital?
The protestors have urged Lieutenant Governor Monoj Sinha to direct the concerned department to construct a separate building for the paediatric hospital.
