Mohammad Arfat Wani
When the residents of Tral and the nearby villages travel through the valleys of Pulwama to Srinagar to get treated, there is always a question lingering in all the residents’ minds: why is not south Kashmir ready with a fully functional hospital to serve its people? The Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Tral, conceived as a ray of hope for over 116 villages and half a million residents, now exists as an example of system failure writ large. Overcrowded wards, outdated equipment, and insufficient staff present a tale of unfulfilled promises—one that the residents of Tral must endure each day.
Though officially recognized as a Community Health Centre (CHC), SDH Tral is working far below its requirements in order to deliver healthcare to its populace. The hospital boasts a scarce 13 doctors, a frightfully small number to serve over a hundred villages. Specialist doctors are virtually non-existent, paramedical staff are insufficient, and emergency services are stretched to the bare minimum. Long delays are experienced by patients, while children, mothers, and the elderly are vulnerable to avoidable threats with sufficient resources. Life-saving services like maternal and child health are under development, exposing hundreds of women and children to unnecessary risk annually.
Infrastructure problems compound the crisis. De facto narrow access roads, chaotic parking, and the missing bridge across Vutl Ara nullah drastically impede emergency care. Even mere necessities such as X-ray units, routine vaccine supplies—barring anti-rabies vaccines—and a functional J&K Bank ATM are spotty at best. Patients and families have a daily struggle, not only of responding to health emergencies but also the transport and economic woes of accessing distant hospitals.
Loopholes in diagnosis and treatment are the most unsettling. Unavailability of MRI and CT scan machines, a well-equipped lab, and a blood bank forces patients to travel long distances to Srinagar for required tests. These forced trips, undertaken in duress, become economically and emotionally taxing for families and cause delays in essential medical interventions. Emergency cases, from accidents to heart attacks, are vulnerable to worsening just because local facilities do not have the resources to treat them.
Funds have been allocated for infrastructure and personnel upgradation, but progress is still sluggish. Bureaucratic inertia, inefficiencies, and gaps in implementation keep development at a standstill, reflecting systemic failures in administration of healthcare. Meanwhile, the citizens of Tral wait—not for indulgence, but for their right to quality and accessible healthcare.
It is now imperative for the Jammu and Kashmir Government, particularly the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Health & Medical Education Department, the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, and the District Administration Pulwama, to take immediate and result-oriented action. The people of Tral earnestly appeal for the upgradation of SDH Tral to a full-fledged Sub-District Hospital with adequate specialist doctors, 24×7 emergency and diagnostic services, and strengthened maternal and child healthcare facilities. The completion of the bridge over Vutl Ara nullah and improvement of approach roads must be prioritized to ensure timely emergency access. Additionally, there is a pressing need to establish MRI and CT scan units, a functional blood bank, and a permanent team of paramedical and technical staff. These are not luxuries—they are the fundamental rights of citizens who have long been deprived of equitable healthcare.
The needs of Tral’s population are clearly spelt out and justified: forthwith appointment of able doctors and experts, enhancement of paramedical personnel, functional diagnostic laboratories, fully serviced emergency facilities, uninterrupted stocks of vaccines, functional blood banks, and functioning of the bridge across Vutl Ara nullah. These measures are not an option; they are lifelines that hold the promise to save countless lives.
Imagine a Tral where patients no longer swarm distant hospitals, emergencies receive immediate treatment, and mothers, children, and elderly are treated locally. Imagine SDH Tral as a refuge of relief, and not frustration—a place where health is given priority, and not postponed. The dream of a functional hospital providing care to the people of south Kashmir is not unattainable; it is an imperative that needs to be addressed immediately.
Until the firm action is taken, pain will continue. Each delay contributes to preventable pain, unwarranted referrals, and lives put at risk. The people of Tral have waited long enough. SDH Tral needs to be transformed from a deserted building to what it was originally meant to be: a home of care, a pillar of health, and a mirror of hope for the district.
For Tral residents, this is not a matter of convenience or numbers—it’s a matter of survival, dignity, and the ability to obtain healthcare. Action is needed now.
(The author is a social activist and medical student. He hails from Kuchmulla, Tral and can be reached at [email protected])
