Public healthcare and educational facilities still lagging behind in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: Gurugam may boast of quality healthcare and educational facilities that may have made its name on the national as well at the international front. Unfortunately for most of the residents, these services are in the hand of private players and out of reach for many.

Even though Gurugram is the richest city in Haryana even within the state, it's public educational and medical facilities have not lived up to the mark as compared to other cities.

Cities like Rohtak, Panchkula, Kurukshetra and Hisar presently have better public healthcare and educational facilities. The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) two of the best medical institutions in the state are situated in Rohtak and Chandigarh.

Gururgam, on the contrary, has recently closed down its oldest Civil Hospital after it was deemed to be unsafe by the government agencies. Though the operations of the hospital have shifted to Sector-10 lack of various services like not having a burn ward results in most of the patients being referred to hospitals in Delhi like AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital.

Even though the construction of new AIIMS near Gurugram has been sanctioned by the Central Government in its 2019 budget, this project has also has hit a roadblock because the land allotted is in the Aravalli forests. The state government may have recently opened the Gurugram University. Being a new the university however with the structures still being put in place, established universities in Rohtak, Kurukshetra and Hissar is still a top consideration for students even in Gurugram.

Quality education for all not only a major challenge in Gurugram but also in the state, a fact that for long has been conceded by the politicians as well as its top public officials. Even as the BJP government claims that steps are being made to improve the situation, it is one area where opposition hopes to find enough takers in the upcoming assembly elections.