Kupwara, Nov 18: Residents of Machil sector in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are demanding urgent action from authorities over the decades-long absence of a gynaecologist at the Primary Health Centre in Duddi, a situation they say has cost lives and left pregnant women vulnerable in one of the Valley’s most remote areas.

The snowbound sector, located more than 50 kilometres from Kupwara district headquarters, remains cut off for days during heavy winter snowfall, forcing residents to undertake perilous journeys for basic maternal healthcare.

“During heavy snowfall, traffic on the Kupwara-Machil road remains suspended for several days. Pregnant women bear the brunt of this isolation,” said Habibullah, a resident.

He described emergency evacuations during winter when residents must car

See Full Page