Skardu likely to get cardiology centre at Gilgit-Baltistan University

Health facility also to benefit large number of medical students

ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan is likely to get a new cardiology centre so that people suffering from heart ailments do not have to travel far to seek treatment.

An official of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan said on Thursday that the cardiology centre would soon be set up at the G-B University in Skardu.

Apart from alleviating the sufferings of people in the mountainous region, the centre would help teach medical students too.

“The cardiology centre will [also] cater to the needs of a large number of medical students [apart from patients],” the official said.

Working plans

In addition to the health centre, the official said the government was set to announce a 30-year forest working plan, timber policy and tourist policy for the region with the collaboration of G-B Council.

He said high-level officials were reviewing development schemes which had been announced by G-B Council and funds for these schemes would be cleared soon.

Talking about work on the Skardu Airport, he said renovation of the airport was in progress while feasibilities for widening the Gilgit Airport had also been prepared.

On addressing power crisis, the G-B affairs ministry official said that the government had acquired land for Diamer-Bhasha Dam. Separately, he said that the government was providing subsidised wheat to people of the area.

Reforms in the health sector would also be announced soon to improve medical facilities in the area, the official said. The government had allocated more land for the expansion of Karakoram International University in Gilgit to provide better education facilities for the locals, he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2016.