Srinagar, Sep 24 (KNO): The Mini Maternity-cum-Child Care (MMC) Hospital at Zakura in Srinagar has yet to become fully functional, with the Health and Medical Education Department attributing the delay to pending repair, renovation and finishing works as well as continued occupation of the hospital building by security forces.
The issue was raised by Hazratbal MLA Salman Ali Sagar, seeking the present status of the facility, expenditure incurred, additional funds required for its operationalisation and the manpower available at SDH Hazratbal.
In its reply, the department, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), stated that the building infrastructure of MMC Zakura is complete in all respects except for finishing works.
The facility, it said, could not be made operational because of pending repair, renovation, internal finishing and allied works, coupled with the continued occupation of the hospital building by security forces.
The department said an Administrative Approval of Rs 299.98 lakh had been accorded for internal finishing and allied development works, against which an initial instalment of Rs 75 lakh was released. However, the amount could not be utilised due to the continued occupation of the building.
A revised cost estimate of Rs 10.45 crore has since been received, but the department termed it “quite exorbitant” and directed the executing agency to revisit the proposal on a realistic basis.
“Once the modified DPR is received, the work will be taken up for completion,” the department said.
The MMC Zakura project was originally taken up during 2014-15 through the J&K Housing Board at an estimated cost of Rs 12.82 crore under NABARD/Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP). The department said the sanctioned amount has been utilised in full.
For the ongoing financial year 2026-27, Rs 10 lakh has been provisioned under the Capex Budget for the work titled “Balance Work of Mini Maternity Centre Zakura Srinagar.”
The department said the requirement of additional funds, if any, would be assessed after a detailed physical assessment and finalisation of the revised Detailed Project Report (DPR).
On the question of making the hospital functional on an urgent basis, particularly in view of its potential to reduce the burden on major maternity and healthcare institutions including LD Hospital, SKIMS and JLNM Hospital, the department said it was “sensitive” to the issue and was committed to making the facility fully functional on priority in the interest of patient care.
However, no specific operationalisation timeline was mentioned in the reply.
The department also furnished details regarding the patient load and manpower arrangements at Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Hazratbal.
According to the reply, SDH Hazratbal receives an average OPD load of approximately 680 patients per day, while around 15 to 20 patients are admitted as IPD cases over a 24-hour period.
To meet the manpower requirements, additional staff from GMC Srinagar has been deployed at the hospital. Staff from other health facilities under Block Hazratbal have also been included in duty rosters, particularly to ensure adequate manpower during night hours.
Besides, a General Surgeon is being deployed by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir at SDH Hazratbal every Tuesday and Saturday.
The department further stated that 47 additional posts covering doctors, paramedics and other categories have been provided under the National Health Mission, in addition to the regular sanctioned positions, to supplement manpower requirements—(KNO)