Govt fails to provide funds despite passage of 20 years
Arvind Sharma
Jammu Tawi, Mar 25: The only artificial limb centre of the Jammu Province in the region’s premier institute, the Government Medical College and Hospital-Jammu (GMC&H-J), has been shut down due to non-availability of funds and as a result large number of needy people, especially from the border areas of Jammu, have been moving from pillar to post but of no use.
The Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu was established around 20 years back in the Orthopaedics Department with an aim to provide artificial limbs to the people of Jammu, especially the people of border areas which witness heavy shelling from across the border.
Apart from this, the aim of setting up the Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu was to provide the artificial limbs to the accident victims and the victims of natural calamities.
In the last around 20 years, the J&K Government failed to create funds for running the Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu for the needy people.
The Indian Red Cross Society (IRC) had so far been providing funds and the requisite material for making the artificial limbs at GMC’s Orthopaedic Department but now it (IRC) has stopped funding besides providing requisite material to the GMC for making the artificial limbs.
“The Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu stands closed due to non-availability of funds, the GMC-Jammu Principal, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, confirmed when contacted by the Northlines.
It may be mentioned that the cost of artificial limbs runs in thousands and lakhs depending upon the design, quality and the requirement of a particular person.
These artificial limbs, until now, were being provided free of cost to the people in need not from Jammu region but also from Kashmir as well.
However, due to closure of the Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu, the needy people have been visiting GMC-Jammu on a regular daily basis but the answer they get from the authorities is, “wait for some time,” sources said.
They further said that in the last around 20 years, the concerned authorities had requested the government to provide funds for smooth running of the Artificial Limb Center at GMC-Jammu but so far nothing has been done in this regard.
