Before Sunrise, Kashmir Heads to the Hospital

More than 229,000 patients visit GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals in a single month, as families travel long distances and doctors manage heavy caseloads during scheduled leave periods.

- Gowher Bhat

At dawn in Bandipora, a mother wrapped her feverish child in a woolen shawl and stepped onto the road to Srinagar.

The new born had vomited through the night and burned with fever.

She boarded the first bus, held him close, gripped his reports, and fixed her eyes on Government Medical College Srinagar.

She reached the hospital gates with hundreds of others who had made similar early morning journeys.

Some came from Kupwara with elderly parents. Many arrived from Pulwama after saving for weeks. Others traveled from Anantnag for followup visits.

Hope filled the corridors as attendants scanned notice boards and waited for their turn.

That morning, the pediatric specialist was on scheduled leave.

The mother listened carefully at the registration desk. Staff explained the return date. She noted it down, adjusted her plans, and prepared for another trip.

Travel had already cost her a day’s wages and bus fare. Another visit would ask for more.

She walked back toward the bus stand with her child resting on her shoulder, already thinking about the next appointment.

Scenes like this unfold across Kashmir every day.