Save Abbottabad Movement: DHQ Hospital building abolition opposed

ABBOTTABAD: Save Abbottabad Movement has protested the decision to demolish the building of the District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital and said that they would not allow anybody to pull down the structure which had been declared part of the heritage.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Syed Shahid Raza, Asad Javed Khan, Mehmood Aslam, Ejaz Qureshi and other leaders of “Save Abbottabad Movement” asked the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to take suo moto notice of the issue and inquire about the status of DHQ Hospital, which was not only declared heritage but also PHC Circuit Bench in Abbottabad had given the status quo in its decision on July 13, 2021.

They said the provincial government had bypassed the Environmental Protection Agency and did not make an environmental impact assessment, which is legally required for such mega projects. The cultural activists pointed out that the present stone-made building is far better than the concrete building structure, adding that some elements have focused their eyes on these stones.

They asked Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to investigate the matter to know the factual position.

Leaders of the movement pointed out that they are just opposing the demolition of the old building but would welcome the government move for constructing the 200-bed new building.

They said the new building structure can be made in any space available in the hospital premises, whereas some elements with vested interest are striving to demolish midwives’ school, TB Ward, and Admin Block.

Without naming any group or person, they criticised the local elected representatives, who, according to them, have ignored their constituencies where people are facing unlimited problems in the shape of lack of space for graveyard, sanitation, health, drinking water, narcotics and mismanagement in almost all the fields.

Similarly, they said, the public representatives had failed to compensate hundreds of those families who were badly affected during flash floods due to poor planning and encroachments in the city.