Bandipora, Oct 17 (KNO): Residents of Saderkoot Payeen village in north Kashmir's Bandipora district are aghast over the absence of medical and paramedical for the last four months staff at the lone health care facility in the village.
The locals while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that they have to face many problems in the absence of doctors and paramedical staff at the lone sub-centre in the village. “The staff posted here to attend to their duties once in a blue moon, thereby making us suffer a lot,” the villagers said.
They alleged that even if the staff attends their duties, they usually come late which forces them to visit district hospital, which is around 10 KMs away from the village, even for minor ailments.
The villagers said that they have many times brought the issue into the notice of the concerned authorities but nothing concrete has been done so far to redress this grave issue.
They alleged that the sub-centre with just four-room and broken windowpanes remains padlocked most of the time due to the absence of medical staff.
“It has been now four months that the staff posted in here has not visited the health facility even once. This is how the authorities treat us. Even we have made several representations to the concerned officials, however, they have failed to take any action in this regard,” said Altaf Ahmad Dar, a local.
Meanwhile, the locals demanded that at least there should be minimal staff available in the centre for attending medical emergencies and maternity-related issues.
A senior official of the health department assured that he would look into the matter and resolve it at the earliest.
Meanwhile, an official from the health department when contacted said that he would look into the matter—(KNO)