“Three dialysis centres are to be set up in a smaller district like Budgam and interestingly all the three dialysis centres are to be set up only in one assembly constituency -Chrar-e-Shareef presently represented in the assembly by incumbent Assembly Speaker Ab Rahim Rather.”
As recent health surveys have indicated that 7.8% population of Jammu & Kashmir is suffering from diabetes, managing diabetes on dialysis has set an increasing trend and tendency in the recent years in both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division . So establishing dialysis centres in all the districts of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division has for all good reasons caught the attention of the newly elected Omar Abdullah led National Conference Government. Though establishing dialysis centres in the districts of both Kashmir and Jammu division shows the concern of the Government on health safety of the people but inequality noticed in the sanction of these dialysis centres among the hospitals in the districts of Kashmir Valley has unfortunately generated a sense of discrimination across Kashmir. Of the Eleven (11) Sub-District Hospitals (SDHs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) shortlisted for establishing dialysis centres in Kashmir Valley the three dialysis centres are to be set up in a smaller district like Budgam and interestingly all the three dialysis centres are to be set up only in one assembly constituency -Chrar-e-Shareef presently represented in the assembly by incumbent Assembly Speaker Ab Rahim Rather. On the contrary only one dialysis centre sanctioned for a bigger district like Ananantnag is to be set up at SDH Dooru and Dooru interestingly is presently represented in the assembly by highly influential top Congress leader Gh Ahmad Mir . Worth mentioning is the fact that of the three dialysis centres sanctioned for three hospitals of Chrar-e-Shareef assembly constituency only one could have been established in one of the hospitals in this constituency and two others could have been established in two other hospitals in any of the other two constituencies in Budgam district.
“While administrative wisdom demands that population should have been the sole criteria for establishing the no of dialysis centres in both the districts and as well as assembly constituencies of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division the Director Health Services Kashmir has unfortunately shortlisted hospitals for dialysis centres in both the districts and as well as the assembly constituencies on the basis of political affiliations. Politics becoming a criteria for establishing dialysis centres is against the spirits of population oriented public welfare in Jammu & Kashmir and more so in the case of establishing life saving health facilities like dialysis centres.”
While a smaller district like Budgam is getting three dialysis centres at three hospitals in just one Chrar-e-Shareef constituency, the biggest two valley districts Baramulla and Anantnag are getting just two and one dialysis centres respectively. While administrative wisdom demands that population should have been the sole criteria for establishing the no of dialysis centres in both the districts and as well as assembly constituencies of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division the Director Health Services Kashmir has unfortunately shortlisted hospitals for dialysis centres in both the districts and as well as the assembly constituencies on the basis of political affiliations. Politics becoming a criteria for establishing dialysis centres is against the spirits of population oriented public welfare in Jammu & Kashmir and more so in the case of establishing life saving health facilities like dialysis centres.
