Ajay Sharma
SUNDERBANI, Dec 2: For the past three years, the X-ray wing of Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Sunderbani has been functioning without its designated supervisor, forcing patients to pay heavy amounts at private diagnostic centres.
According to sources, the supervisor posted in the radiology section has not reported for duty even once in the last three years. “Despite drawing full salary from SDH Sunderbani, the employee has remained absent from the section for more than three years,” said sources, adding that the employee has been verbally “attached” elsewhere without any written order.
Sources claimed that the supervisor is regularly seen roaming in doctors’ rooms and administrative sections at Sub-District Hospital Nowshera or in various offices in Rajouri town.
“Everyone knows he enjoys strong political and bureaucratic patronage, which is why no one dares touch his salary,” claimed sources, adding that in the absence of a qualified supervisor, X-ray technicians are left to operate without proper guidance or oversight.
Locals of the area shared that this has severely compromised the quality and reliability of radiological services at the government facility. “Who will guide the technicians inside the X-ray room if the supervisor himself never comes?” asked a local resident, adding, “Patients, especially poor ones from far-flung villages, are left with no option but to pay heavy amounts at private diagnostic centres.”
They said that the Block Medical Officer (BMO) Sunderbani, despite being aware of the issue, has reportedly refrained from stopping the supervisor’s salary. “Even the Director Health Services Jammu has been informed multiple times, but little urgency has been shown in addressing the matter,” asserted locals.
They further appealed that the Deputy Commissioner Rajouri must personally intervene, verify the supervisor’s presence through phone location data, and examine CCTV footage of SDH Sunderbani to ascertain the facts.
