A renowned Kashmiri Pandit cardiologist, Upendra Koul has opened a Heart Centre for needy patients in the Hawal area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Dr. Koul’s centre which is named after his grandfather Prasad Joo Khan is expected to serve a lot of patients in the area who have to travel for several miles to reach the nearest heart facility.
Originally a resident of from Pulwama’s Hawal area, Dr. Kaul, is the chairman and dean of academics and research at the Batra Hospital in New Delhi.
“I will attend to patients at the centre’s outpatient department in Pulwama once in a week, and also meet them Srinagar,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindu.
On Saturday, locals accompanied the doctor to the inauguration of the project. Many Pandits from the Hawal transit camp also attended the event. “It was not possible to realise the dream project without the help of locals in Hawal,” Dr. Kaul said.
Several Muslim villagers in Hawal launched a signature campaign and wrote to Deputy Commissioner Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary “for allocation of government land to the Gauri Kaul Foundation, which has set up the center, to building a heart center”.
“We the residents of villages — Hawal including Migrant Colony, Gaberpora, Kutchpora, other nearby and adjoining areas of the district demand that the son of soil Padma Shri Dr. Kaul cardiologist a larger heart institute will be an ideal service for the people,” the villagers’ letter read.