Suhail Rather

Bandipora, July 23: The transfer of Dr. Shahood Kakroo, the lone cardiologist posted at District Hospital Bandipora, has triggered public outrage and effectively rendered the district’s newly launched cardiac care unit defunct.

JK Government on Wednesday deputed Dr Shahood Kakroo to GMC Anantnag for augmenting Cath Lab service. The move, has sparked sharp criticism from civil society groups, doctors, and patients, who term it a severe blow to the fragile healthcare setup of the north Kashmir district.

Dr. Kakroo, who had recently begun cardiac OPD services in Bandipora, had also started using the echocardiography machine brought in specifically for him to operate.

His abrupt transfer has now halted all cardiology services, with no replacement specialist appointed. Locals fear the cardiac unit will now lie idle, pushing heart patients—many of them elderly and poor—to undertake a 70-km journey to Srinagar.

“I was finally being treated at home after years of suffering,” said Ghulam Nabi Mir, 72, a patient from Ashtangoo. “Now, with his transfer, I can’t even think of going to Srinagar again. I’ll wait for the end here.”

Another patient, 65-year-old widow Fatima Bano, broke down while speaking: “Why bring the doctor here, give us hope, and then snatch him away so soon? We have no voice, no value.”

Terming the transfer “criminal negligence,” the District Civil Society called the move a “medical murder of a district.” The group noted that the cardiac echo unit, recently inaugurated by NHPC, would now be handled by technicians untrained in cardiology.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

“First the Medical Superintendent didn’t join, and now this,” said a spokesperson. “Bandipora is being erased from the healthcare map. This is being done by lobbying of some people having ulterior motives to promote private hospitals in valley by denying healthcare in government hospitals”.

“You don’t post a super-specialist and remove him before systems are stabilised,” the doctor said. “A cardiac unit is not a tent you can dismantle at will. It is a critical service that was finally becoming available to a neglected district.”

Staff at District Hospital Bandipora admitted their inability to run the unit without a cardiologist. “We are not trained to operate the echo machine or interpret the results. It’s like handing someone a plane they don’t know how to fly,” said a hospital employee.

The move has provoked strong public reactions. “Why is healthcare in Bandipora always temporary?” asked Sabreena Jan, a local schoolteacher. “Do our lives matter less than those in other districts?”

Mohammad Ashraf, a retired government employee, said his wife had just begun follow-ups with Dr. Kakroo. “Now we are back to square one. If something happens on the road to Srinagar, who is responsible?”

Youth activist Shafiq Ahmad appealed to the Lieutenant Governor’s office for urgent intervention. “Reverse this transfer before it’s too late,” he said. “This is not a political issue anymore—it’s a humanitarian crisis.” (KNS)