Srinagar, June 1:Apni Party Tuesday expressed resentment over the suspension of proposed construction on the AIIMS Hospital at Awantipora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
In a statement issued here, Apni Party District President Pulwama Ghulam Muhammad Mir said that after the initiation of preliminary construction of the AIIMS Hospital at Awantipora, the already languishing construction work had now come to a grinding halt after the announcement of Covid-19 lockdown in March.
“The construction work of such a prestigious hospital shouldn’t have stopped but due to the lackadaisical and sluggish approach adapted by the company and administration alike, it appears that the completion of this much-awaited project may take several decades,” he said.
Mir said that if the work was carried out on a priority basis it would eventually also end the current dearth of requisite healthcare facilities in the Kashmir division.
“The people have huge expectations associated with this mega project as the functioning of this hospital will considerably lower the pressures on healthcare facilities in Kashmir division. The induction of modern and advanced medical technologies in this hospital will act as a panacea for patients who are helpless but have to travel to Delhi and other parts of the country for better treatment facilities,” he said.
Mir said that the government had already excluded the public-sector projects from the restrictive ambience of the lockdown but the deserted look of the hospital site reveals that the implementation of such a project was faulty on the ground zero.
“I appeal the J&K government to take serious note of this standstill situation and exhort the associated company to initiate the work on the hospital site at once so that the people don’t have to suffer for decades to see this hospital running at its full capacity,” he said.