Govt: Two new medical institutes to boost health facilities in J-K

Srinagar, June 25 (ANI): Union Health Minister and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday said that the upcoming two new medical institutes in Srinagar and Jammu would boost health facilities in the state.

Azad was speaking on the sidelines of a Health Sector review meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Center (SKICC) here.

"In both Srinagar and Jammu, we are setting up two big medical institutes and one would be completed by this year and the other by next year. This will benefit the people of the state, who used to go to big cities like Delhi and Chandigarh for medical treatments. So Jammu people would now be able to go to the Jammu centre and likewise Kashmiris to Kashmir centre and this is a big relief," said Ghulam Nabi Azad while adding that the opening of the two institutes would provide a big relief to people, who have to present visit other big cities for medical treatment.

Azad, who has also been the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said that primary and secondary health services and necessary infrastructure would be upgraded on modern lines in all the districts.

Further, he said the central Government has already sanctioned 34 district hospitals and out of them 17 have been completed and other 17 will be completed very soon.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, has initiated a series of meetings with the State Governments to assess the impact of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and seek suggestions of the State Governments to improve the implementation mechanism.

As part of the meetings, Azad had the first meeting with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir on June 23rd and 24th in which the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Omar Abdullah, Senior Officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and all the concerned officers associated with the implementation of NRHM and other health related projects in Jammu and Kashmir attended the meeting.

Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, requested Azad for additional assistance and continued support from the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare for upgrading the facilities and health infrastructure in the State. (ANI)