Srinagar, Nov 10 (HS): Jammu and Kashmir Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Tuesday said 900 new doctors have been recruited over the past two years and that the shortage of doctors has been reduced by 50 per cent. Most of them, she said, have been posted to remote areas.

The minister was talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Tangmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Replying to a question on the shortage of doctors, she said no doctor wanted to go to areas like Tangdar, but 16 doctors were sent there only yesterday. According to her, doctors have also been posted in far-flung areas such as Bani, Kishtwar and Rajouri.

Acknowledging that the shortage has not been fully overcome, she said 50 per cent of it has been addressed over the past two to three years. “We want people to get the best possible medical services,” she said.

The minister announced that Gulmarg will be provided with a four-by-four ambulance so that patients do not face any difficulty there in winter.

On medical infrastructure, Itoo said problems of the past 20 or 50 years cannot be resolved in two years. She said the government had succeeded in constructing new buildings and providing fresh infrastructure to medical colleges, and that efforts would continue.

“We have inherited problems, but we are trying to solve all of them. We will work in the direction that people do not face difficulties,” she said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Zahoor Hussain Bhat