Kupwala, December 7th: On Tuesday, residents of Drugmulla and its neighboring villages in the Kupwala district in northern Kashmir expressed dissatisfaction with the authorities because the Primary Health Center (PHC) Drugmulla lacked sufficient staff and basic diagnostic facilities .

Residents said that the hospital caters to a large population but lacks basic facilities, which disappointed the locals in more than a dozen villages including Drugmulla A and B, Vaterkhani, Anderhama, Muqam-e-Shahwali, Shadipora and Bramri.

They said that the health center was understaffed, which caused a serious blow to patient care. Locals said that of the four doctors assigned here, one belongs to the Kupwala District Hospital (SDH).

An official said that a female multipurpose health worker (FMPHW) and a head nurse are also attached to SDH Kupwara, which overburdens other PHC Drugmulla employees.

"Although there are X-ray equipment and electrocardiographs in the hospital, they are useless because there are no technicians," the official said. "Since the hospital operates without an ambulance service, in a medical emergency, we usually face people's anger because there is no ambulance here."

Since there are no gynecologists here, pregnancy care is also affected, which causes difficulties for women in the area because they are forced to go to SDH Kupwara or the district hospital Handwara.

Residents also complained that there is no dentist here.

They said that a few years ago, the dentist was transferred from here, and his successor has not yet been determined.

Residents said that they have repeatedly reported these dissatisfaction to relevant officials, but so far have not taken any specific measures.

They sought the immediate intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in this regard so that their real grievances could be corrected.

They called on the LG government to upgrade existing facilities to improve PHC Drugmulla's healthcare.

Dr. Zafar Akbar of Brock Medical Officer (BMO) Kupwara said he will visit the hospital in person to experience first-hand the problems people face.

Regarding the question of not having an X-ray technician, he said that he would receive a call in this regard soon.