The residents of some of the villages in Rajouri district of Jammu region have been living without basic facilities and proper healthcare facilities, the inhabitants told Greater Kashmir on Sunday.
Around 10000 people living in dozens of villages near Rajouri town are deprived of much required healthcare services with their prolonged demand for a Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) being ignored for years and villagers now warning for agitation if demand for healthcare service is not met.
The villages where from demand of PHC is being raised include Thandikassi, Chenani Bagla, Tandwal, Mubarakhpura, Mankote, Palullian, Ninga Nar, Sadhyal, Tundi Trar, Khankhari, Gambhir Brahmna, Irwan Khenatar, Niaka, Chamba and many others with all these villages located along Line of Control and at a distance of only four to five kilometers from Rajouri town.
“Although our area is the nearest rural belt of Rajouri town but is still deprived of even basic healthcare services.” Yougesh Sharma, Sarpanch from Tundi Trar panchayat having around twenty five hundred of human population said.
“We have only one medical dispensary at Thandikassi and one at Gambhir Brahmna with both is ill equipped and devoid of basic infrastructure and medicines.” Sharma said.
Khadam Hussain, another panchayat representative of the area said that the Jammu Rajouri Poonch national highway passes from the area and road accidents are a routine in the area and accident victims hardly find first aid facility in the area and have to be shifted in Rajouri GMC only.
“Many villages including Niaka, Panjgrian, Chamba and others located on one end of the area are LoC villages falling in shelling zone of LoC in Tarkundi Gali and the injured victim receives no medical aid in the area which is enough to narrate the plight of border resident.” Zakir Hussain, another local leader from LoC villages said.
The locals from the area further added that since the last three decades they are demanding establishment of a PHC in the area but for no use as multiple legislators and concerned government officers have ignored their demand leaving around 10000 people living in the area on God’s mercy.
” You can imagine the state of affairs of health services in the area that one cannot even get a single tablet from the government side and people have to move to Rajouri town for treatment from private institutions or to GMC associated hospital Rajouri.” the villagers and panchayati leaders from the area said.
“We warn government machinery to fulfill our genuine demand else we will remain with no other option than to hit the roads.” they further said.