Srinagar, Sep 01 (KNO): Civil Society members from Handwara staged a protest at Press Enclave Srinagar on Monday against the relocation of the Government Medical College (GMC) Handwara, calling it a case of “political vendetta” and a betrayal of local aspirations.
Holding placards reading “Stop Politics, Save GMC” and “Union Govt Gave, State Govt Took Away,” the protesters gathered in Srinagar’s Press Enclave and, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), accused the government of shifting the project from its originally sanctioned Gund Chogal site to Nutnussa under political influence.
They also questioned the role of Chief Minister’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, saying, “An unelected person cannot decide the future of an entire district.”
Protesters further told KNO that over Rs 50 crore had already been spent at the Gund Chogal site, and abandoning it now would amount to a criminal waste of public money. “If the government finds the site unsuitable, then an inquiry should be held into the approvals granted earlier,” they demanded.
The GMC Handwara project was approved in 2019 under a centrally sponsored scheme with Rs 325 crore sanctioned. It was e-inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2021. While authorities flagged the Chogal site as flood-prone, locals rejected this reasoning. “If people can live and build homes there, why can’t the government construct a medical college using modern engineering?” asked one protester.
Moreover, the civil society members warned that protests will intensify if the decision is not reversed, terming the relocation “a betrayal of present and future generations of Handwara.”—(KNO)