MANSEHRA: Residents of Oghi are without adequate healthcare facilities as the historical Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, which was grounded after developing dangerous cracks in the 2005 devastating earthquake, is yet to be rebuilt.

“The government performed the groundbreaking of this health facility about seven years ago, but its reconstruction couldn’t be completed as yet due to a shortage of funds leaving locals dependent on quacks and unskilled birth attendants,” Javed Sikandar, a local peasant councillor, told reporters in Oghi.

Flanked by a group of locals, he said that the hospital built in 1901 had developed dangerous cracks during the earthquake almost 19 years ago and its reconstruction work was suspended some two years ago due to a shortage of funds. “An alternative health facility is running nearby but is unable to meet the healthcare needs of people, resulting in patients being shifted to quacks,” Mr Sikandar said.

He said children and women were the worst affected by this situation and were compelled to seek treatment at King Abdullah Teaching Hospital in Mansehra or Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad. “We have raised this issue with the health department’s higher-ups and local lawmakers numerous times, but to no avail,” Mr Sikandar said.

He demanded of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and local MPA Akramullah Ghazi to take notice of the grim situation and ensure the early release of funds so the hospital could be completed.

Meanwhile, Oghi assistant commissioner Fahad Zia and DSP Waheed Khan raided private clinics and hospitals to arrest quacks allegedly involved in performing surgeries and providing medicines.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2025

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary in the dock
Updated 22 Feb, 2025

Judiciary in the dock

Recent developments in SC and IHC certainly seem to have lent credibility to perception that judges perceived as a 'threat’ are being sidelined.
Paying taxes
22 Feb, 2025

Paying taxes

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s ‘hard talk’ at a retail business conference on Thursday was long ...
Rules for thee
22 Feb, 2025

Rules for thee

IT was a year ago when, in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2024 elections, the state banned X. Today, it remains...
Ukraine initiative
Updated 21 Feb, 2025

Ukraine initiative

Whether Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative succeeds or not, it will be difficult for Kyiv, Europe to face Russian military machine without US support.
High cost of SOEs
21 Feb, 2025

High cost of SOEs

THERE are losses and then some. The finance ministry’s latest overview of the federally owned state enterprises...
Poor impression
21 Feb, 2025

Poor impression

RECENT developments in the Senate have provided cause for concern on how parliamentary business is being conducted....