Power crisis grips health institutions in Baramulla

Baramulla, Nov 22: As the relentless power crisis casts its shadow over North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, its impact reverberates most profoundly in crucial health institutions scattered across the area.
Sub-district hospitals and Primary Health Centres, especially those in Uri, Boniyar, Pattan, Rafiabad and Tangmarg, bear the brunt of an acute power shortage, disrupting essential medical services.
These healthcare lifelines, essential for the well-being of the local population, grapple with the challenges of an unreliable power supply.
Despite some institutions equipped with generators, these devices often falter or lack the capacity to support critical equipment like X-ray machines and other machinery.
In Uri, the Sub District Hospital faces the repercussions of an insufficient power supply.
“While equipped with a generator, its frequent malfunctions leave the hospital in a precarious position.”
Similarly, the Primary Health Centre in Boniyar, serving residents in remote villages, struggles with a generator that fails to meet the energy demands, rendering the X-ray plant inactive.
Hilal Ahmad Bhat, a local in Boniyar, emphasized the significance of the Primary Health Centre in Boniyar, stating, “The operational X-ray unit becomes indispensable due to frequent power cuts. Patients requiring X-rays are shifted to GMC Baramulla, causing avoidable inconvenience.”
The SDH Pattan, designated as a trauma centre on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway, grapples with a similar predicament, relying on an unreliable generator despite its crucial role in accident-related medical interventions.
The Sub District Hospital in Rafiabad faces severe challenges, with frequent power cuts affecting the operation of essential equipment like USG and X-ray machines.
The hospital’s authorities highlight the plight of patients, attendants, and staff, urging a swift resolution to the power crisis for the institution’s smooth functioning.
“There are small generators at these hospitals but the machinery needed for essential tests couldn’t be run on these generators. The electricity issue needs to be tackled at an earliest.”
The locals have also raised their concern due to the relentless power crisis in the entire Baramulla district.