Srinagar, Nov 05 (KNO): Jammu and Kashmir Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Thursday welcomed Union Health Minister J P Nadda's visit to Kashmir and said AIIMS Awantipora is set to begin academic activities with 100 MBBS seats, double the 50 seats announced earlier.
Speaking after Nadda's visit to the institute in Pulwama district, Itoo, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said the Union Minister reviewed the progress of the project and its preparedness for launching academic and healthcare services.
"Earlier, 50 MBBS seats had been announced, but now the Union Health Minister has indicated that 100 students will soon begin their studies at AIIMS Awantipora," she said.
The minister also stressed the need to make the Outpatient Department (OPD) operational at the earliest, saying it would provide much-needed specialised healthcare services to people of south Kashmir and reduce pressure on major hospitals in Srinagar.
Itoo said the Omar Abdullah government was keen to see the premier institute become functional without further delay and noted that the chief minister had reviewed the project on several occasions.
Meanwhile, she raised with Nadda the issue of Adnan Ahmad Rather, a final-year MBBS student from Sopore who died in Bangladesh. She said she handed over the student's documents and sought the Union Minister's intervention for the early repatriation of his mortal remains.
"The family is going through an extremely difficult time. His mother, who was accompanying him in Bangladesh, is also in a state of shock. I requested the Union Health Minister to ensure the mortal remains are brought back at the earliest," she said.
According to Itoo, Nadda assured all possible assistance and said he would take up the matter with the concerned authorities.
AIIMS Awantipora is among Jammu and Kashmir's key healthcare infrastructure projects and is expected to significantly improve access to specialised medical services while boosting medical education in the Union Territory—(KNO)