All the members of the Assembly blamed Bali Baghat over poor infrastructure and health facilities in the department.
The members of the Assembly spoke during a discussion on the motion of grants to the Health department in the Legislative Assembly.
Mian Altaf, MLA National Conference, highlighted the plight of far flung areas and pointed out that the current government has failed to provide the basic health facilities in far flung areas.
Altaf advised “The doctors recruited on reserved categories should be posted in their respective areas for a period of at least five years so that they are able to help their own communities.”
He also said that substandard drugs are still prevailing in the Valley and should be removed from Kashmir as soon as possible. “People have a belief that only two to three chemists sell good quality medicines,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, who was conducting the proceedings intervened and asked the Health Minister that House has already passed a law that SCs, STs and other doctors would be posted in their own areas for 10 years but the order was not followed. “Even though you tried to implement the law but some doctors got stay and managed their transfer to other areas. You must take up the matter with Judiciary and get the issue resolved,” he said.
Deputy Speaker directed the Health Minister to take steps in order to bring law and order in his field. He said that he should make mandatory for all the doctors to serve in the rural areas at least for a period of one year after their recruitment in the department.
The PDP MLA from Karnah, Raja Manzoor Ahmad criticized the health department for its failure to cater to the cut off areas and said, “I wish all roads leading to Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) had been open so that I could take patients in Karnah to PaK via Teetwal as the standard of the Health department of PaK is far better than the hospitals in my area.” (PTK)