Health System in Rural Kashmir is not working the way it should have worked for the purposes of the accessibility of people to basic health facilities within 2-5 kilometer radius in their places of residence. The people are more conscious about their economic upliftment but are not so much about their basic health issues. The awareness about accessibility of people to basic health issues is in fact the domain of the panchayat representatives who unfortunately are least bothered about the availability of basic health issues in the areas where people elect them for the purposes of addressing issues of their basic human needs. In fact one of biggest roles of panchayat representative was to facilitate the delivery of health services at the doorsteps of the people and such they could have played a central role by rural populations with the functionaries of primary health centres. Though Government is increasing it’s focus on upgrading primary health care services even in the remotest of the remote areas of both Kashmir valley and Jammu division but the motive of connecting people with the basic health facilities available in their villages could be facilitated better by the Panchayat representative than the public functionaries working in health institutions in rural areas. Keeping in view the fact that both doctors and paramedics while trying to motivate people for vaccination were vulnerable to attacks during the high intensity pandemic periods in last two years of Covid-19 pandemic the panchyat representative should take a lead role in generating health consciousness among people in villages across Jammu & Kashmir. People have surely learnt a lot from the experiences of critical healthcare management during last two years of covid-19 pandemic and as such generating the spirit of health consciousness among people in rural areas is not as difficult now as it was before the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic almost three years ago.
As public representatives it is the duty of the panchayat representatives to support every initiative of doctors and paramedics on upgradation of basic health facilities in rural areas. What matters the most is how the Government plans the future of primary health care system for the purposes of connecting the rural population with the functionaries of the health department discharging the responsible of basic health needs in rural areas of both Kashmir valley and Jammu division .
Even as doctors and paramedics contribute to the best of their capacities and capabilities in rural areas the panchyat representatives tend to be their critics without any rhyme and reason. As public representatives it is the duty of the panchayat representatives to support every initiative of doctors and paramedics on upgradation of basic health facilities in rural areas. What matters the most is how the Government plans the future of primary health care system for the purposes of connecting the rural population with the functionaries of the health department discharging the responsible of basic health needs in rural areas of both Kashmir valley and Jammu division .
