Shimla women oppose shift of KNH services to IGMC

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Shimla, September 15

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Samiti (AIDWA) on Tuesday marched from Talland to the Secretariat, protesting against the shifting of gynaecology services from Kamla Nehru Hospital (KNH) to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) in Shimla.

A large number of women participated in the march and raised slogans against the government. The protesters clashed with the police near the Secretariat, disrupting traffic on the road for some time.

AIDWA secretary Falma Chauhan said the KNH had been an important healthcare institution for women for decades and that shifting its gynaecology services to the IGMC would cause inconvenience to patients, particularly pregnant women, their attendants and those coming from remote areas.

She alleged that the government was weakening the KNH and claimed that residential facilities for legislators were being constructed after demolishing portions of the hospital. These allegations could not be independently verified.

“Women should be provided accessible and better healthcare facilities, and that should be the government’s priority,” Chauhan added.

She said the organisation would continue its agitation until the decision was withdrawn. The matter, she added, was pending before the High Court.

Representatives of the SFI and CITU also joined the protest and extended support to the AIDWA-led agitation.

The state government, meanwhile, has justified the shifting of the gynaecology OPD by citing advanced equipment and technology, including robotic surgery, available at the IGMC. Obstetrics services at the KNH are to continue.