Suhail Bhat
Srinagar Dec 26: Amid subzero temperature in Kashmir, patients at District Hospital Ganderbal are enduring severe hardships as the central heating system remains non-operational, despite being complete.
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The delay has prompted concerns about the winter preparedness of the hospital administration during the crucial 40-day Chillai Kalan winter period in Kashmir.
Patients and their attendants are grappling with the bitter cold, resorting to carrying traditional firepots, known as Kangris, into the hospital to stave off the freezing conditions.
“It is difficult for the patient to handle the Kangri, and if, God forbid, he loses control, it can put him in danger of burning,” Mushtaq Ahmad, a resident of Tulmulla, said.
Sharing his ordeal, Ahmed highlighted the challenges faced by his brother, who recently underwent leg surgery, emphasising the difficulty in coping with an extreme cold during the postoperative care period.
“We are facing a lot of hardships in the absence of heating facilities. Unfortunately, such a big hospital has no running heating facilities,” he said.
Ghulam Mohidin, another patient awaiting his mother’s scheduled surgery, expressed concern about the impact of the extreme cold inside the hospital on his elderly mother’s health.
“I do not know whether she will be alright till her turn for surgery comes, as the biting cold is dangerous for an elderly person like her,” he said.
Medical Superintendent, Nighat Yasmeen acknowledged the delay in operationalizing the central heating system. “The Mechanical Engineer Department has completed the work on the central heating system, and we were planning to operationalize it this year, but there are some issues,” she said. Yasmeen added that the hospital administration had engaged with the concerned department to address the problems.
Yasmeen said that being a new facility, there might be operational challenges initially, but emphasised the commitment to finding solutions. “We will chalk out the ways to start the heating system, and we are expecting the people from the mechanical division to visit here,” she said.
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