Anantnag, Dec 24 (KNO): The Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling the construction of a 200-bedded Maternal and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) at Janglatmandi, Anantnag.
A top health official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a proposal for the construction of a 200-bedded maternity and childcare hospital on the premises of the GMC Anantnag-associated Janglatmandi Hospital has been submitted and is likely to get approval soon.
He said the Maternity and Child Care Hospital in Sher Bagh has been functioning from a very dilapidated building that was declared unsafe by the fire and emergency department over a decade ago.
The official said the government has made several attempts to relocate the hospital, but these efforts have not materialised due to various reasons.
"In 2015, the facility was moved to Janglatmandi, but within a day, it was relocated back due to political intervention," he said.
The official added, "Seven years ago, plans were made to move the hospital to the Rehmat-e-Alam Trust building in the Sarnal area of Anantnag. However, the move has yet to materialise. Although Rs 13 crore was spent on constructing two additional floors for the building, a safety assessment by IIT Jammu revealed that it failed to meet post-2005 earthquake safety standards."
The institute recommended retrofitting and reinforcing the beams of the older floors at an estimated cost of Rs 8 crore. However, this proposal was shelved, leaving the hospital to continue operations in the unsafe Sher Bagh building.
The official said that new infrastructure for the MCCH is essential as it will provide tertiary-level comprehensive maternal and child care services in South Kashmir.
He said the people opposing the relocation of MCCH Sher Bagh must understand that even if they want the hospital to remain there, it needs to be shifted temporarily to allow the construction of new infrastructure. “In the current circumstances, if any untoward incident happens due to the dilapidated and unsafe condition of the building, who will take responsibility?” he asked.
Currently, the hospital manages over 50,000 patients in its OPD and around 10,000 indoor patients every month.
Staff at the MCCH said both patients and medical personnel face challenges but noted that shifting the hospital is beyond their control. “Every day, thousands of patients from far-off places in South Kashmir and even the Jammu division come here. Despite the challenges, we are managing,” one staff member said.
Notably, last month, Secretary of Health Syed Abid Rashid Shah directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to prepare and submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) within five days for the construction of a 200-bedded Maternal and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) at Anantnag.
The Chief Engineer of the Public Works (R&B) Department South Kashmir, Ishfaq Mohammad Beigh, told KNO that they have prepared the report and submitted it to GMC Anantnag.
Principal GMC Anantnag Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb told KNO that the R&B Department’s report has been submitted to higher-ups for approval. “We are hopeful that this will get approval soon, and the hospital will come up in Anantnag at the earliest,” she added—(KNO)