Bandipora, Oct 27: Residents and the local traders’ federation held a blood donation camp at District Hospital Bandipora for the people of Gurez on Tuesday.
While expressing strong solidarity with the border valley’s healthcare crisis, civil society members warned the government against stripping the already understaffed district hospital of its doctors to manage the fallout.
The blood donation drive coincided with the conclusion of a five-day hunger strike in Gurez. Protesters officially called off their fast on Monday, a day after the government issued formal posting orders deploying specialist doctors to the remote region following the deaths of a pregnant woman and her baby.
“Gurez is our identity, and they must receive better healthcare facilities in every circumstance,” Bandipora Traders Federation President Ali Mohammad Hajam said during the drive.
“Whenever they need our help, whether it is blood or any other support, Bandipora is always standing shoulder to shoulder with them.”
Imran Mir, a local resident participating in the camp, echoed the shared grief across the district, noting that the civilian response was deeply driven by the recent maternal tragedy in Gurez.
While fully supporting the demands of the Gurez protesters, the traders’ body fiercely criticised the administration’s recent attempts to manage the crisis by shifting doctors from the district headquarters.
“Facilities must be provided to Gurez, but not at the cost of Bandipora,” Hajam said. “If you remove a gynaecologist or a physician from Bandipora and post them to Gurez, that is unacceptable. That must not be acceptable to the people of Bandipora.”
The remarks follow a weekend order issued by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, which temporarily deployed two gynaecologists to the Community Health Centre in Dawar, Gurez. The order effectively transferred Dr Sheikh Firdous from District Hospital Bandipora to the remote valley to quell the ongoing protests.
Shamshad Ahamad Bhat, former president and current district president of the Bandipora Traders and Manufacturers Federation, pointed out that the Bandipora hospital is already grappling with a severe staff shortage.
“We only have a handful of doctors here,” Bhat said. “Our older doctors, like Dr Parvez and Dr Muzaffar, and Dr Ishfaq, were taken out of here and, to this day, they have never been replaced.”
He noted that the recent transfer of Dr Firdous, who handles multiple roles at the hospital, further cripples the district’s primary healthcare hub.
“If there is a problem in Gurez, the government has protocols. Patients can be airlifted or brought by road to Srinagar, or they can place staff from other areas where there is no deficit,” Bhat said. “But if you take the doctors from here and shift them to Gurez, what do we have left here?”
The residents and traders appealed to the Deputy Commissioner and higher health authorities to immediately recruit new specialists for Gurez, warning that shifting existing staff will only precipitate a secondary healthcare crisis.
“It is an irony that rather than providing new staff to Gurez, you are pulling staff from a hospital that is already facing a shortage,” Bhat added. “We appeal to the authorities that these transfers must not happen.”
