DRDO hospital Srinagar set up in pandemic being dismantled, people aghast

Our contract with DRDO expired: GMC Principal

The 500 bed DRDO hospital which was established in Srinagar during the second wave of Covid-19 is being dismantled with people angry over the move.

The DRDO hospital in Khonmoh was inaugurated by LG Manoj Sinha on 10 June 2021 during the peak of the second wave of Covid-19.

The hospital had 500 beds including 125 ICU beds and 375 beds with additional oxygen connectivity and it was equipped with all the latest machinery, oxygen facilities and other infrastructure.

As Covid started ebbing, people expected that the hospital would be shifted into an infectious disease hospital but its dismantling has shocked all.

Some patients in the second wave of Covid-19 were admitted in it only and since then it was defunct, then was established to be used for just a few days, they said.

Medicos also said that if the government would have intervened, the hospital would have been converted into an infectious disease hospital which Kashmir is lacking.

They said that the hospital was equipped with Intensive Care Units (ICUs) with hundreds of ventilators, including those meant for children and infants; there was a facility of high-flow oxygen on every bed; huge bed capacity but the government should have taken steps so that it won't have got waste.

They said that there are many infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Influenza, Diarrhoeas of various kinds, Dengue, Malaria and all such patients would have been treated under one umbrella at DRDO hospital which would help in prevention of spread of infectious diseases and less load on other hospitals.

Locals have requested the government to relook into the decision and take up the issue with DRDO authorities so that it won't be dismantled and can be converted into an infectious disease hospital.

Notably, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar a few days ago told KNO that the government is examining the matter on how to use these DRDO hospitals. But they are yet to take any decision about it.

Meanwhile Principal GMC Srinagar Dr Samia Rashid told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that their initial contract with DRDO was for six months which was extended by six more months.

She said that the contract has expired now and they have started dismantling it—(KNO)