Dinga Amb PHC without Ambulance, public suffers

Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Feb 25: The Primary Health Centre (PHC), at Dinga Amb Tehsil headquarters, in district Kathua is without Ambulance for the last about eight years.
The people of about nine surrounding Panchayats besides local town are suffering for the last many years for want of an Ambulance. Interestingly, a driver has been posted in this hospital since long and is getting wages continuously but the Kathua District and Jammu Divisional Health authorities failed to provide an ambulance to this important Kandi belt hospital, despite several public representations to the BMO and even the CMO Kathua.
Former Sarpanch and senior BJP leader from Dinga Amb, Kuldip Gupta said that several times, they approached BMO Hiranagar, CMO Kathua and even DC Kathua for this problem but only false assurances were received from the people at the helm of affairs.
He said an old Truck type Ambulance was provided to Dinga Hospital, about two decades back but this vehicle went out of order and was never repaired. Even its tyres and engine have gone and it is lying abandoned in hospital premises. A Van type Ambulance was provide after repeated requests but that vehicle remained hardly for three months and was later withdrawn by BMO Hiranagar about seven years ago and since then this hospital is without an Ambulance. During emergency the patients and especially pregnant women of the surrounding areas are shifted to Kathua or Hiranagar hospital in private/hired vehicles.
Another BJP leader and Panch, Rakesh Purohit said many agencies/NGOs donate Ambulances to Divisional Commissioner Jammu and Director Health Jammu every year, but they never bothered about the plight of Dinga Amb people, despite repeated requests.