Srinagar, 19 June (KNS): The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Party President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah on Saturday expressed concern over the plight of unemployed  dental surgeons who are at the verge of overage, stress, and starvation over their poor future job scenario.

Expressing concern over the plight of trained unemployed dental surgeons, he said, “The reason for their unemployment clearly follows a disparity between supply and demand in the health sector.  It takes years of devotion towards the subject of dentistry to get the graduate degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery. However, even after such painstaking efforts the current situation of dental graduates in J&K is grave. They have been agitating and have from time to time sent representations to concerned authorities, but all in vain.  The unemployed surgeons have been making rounds of the secretariat as well but so far their genuine grievances haven’t been met by the incumbent government,” he said.

Asking the incumbent J&K government to work out a mechanism to absorb them into health services and other flagship programs of the central government, Dr. Farooq said, “Despite being qualified they were being forced to choose between unemployment and clinics other than utilizing their skills for society in large. For survival, many of them have taken up odd jobs in medical transcription, health insurance outside their state and some have even changed their vocations. They can be absorbed under RBSK, NOHP, Ayushman Bharat and school dental health programs which involve oral care as well,” he said adding, “It serves no good to have dental equipment at all health care facilities across JK minus operators. The equipment including dental chairs and other critical dental care equipment wouldn’t benefit people unless trained dental medics and surgeons are made available to put it to use for then only can the common public benefit from it. Otherwise the equipment will continue to gather dust at such facilities.” he said.  

Dr Farooq added that the badge of being unemployed is a curse in this part of the world. “The inability of the governments to utilize this human capital is worrisome, I hope the incumbent administration will redress the issue at an earliest,” he said.(KNS)