Dehradun/Pithoragarh, Oct. 25 -- A protest march against "poor health care facilities" in the hilly areas of the state was launched on Friday. The 300-km-long march, led by armed force veteran Bhuvan Kathayat is an extension of "Operation Swasthya" agitation, which began on October 2 from Almora's Chaukutia in Kumaon region. The Friday's protest aimed to gherao chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's official residence in Dehradun and the protesters sought a comprehensive healthcare policy to strengthen the existing facilities. Following the agitation, the state government on October 16 announced the upgradation of Chaukhutia Community Health Centre (CHC) into a 50-bed sub-district hospital (SDH). Protesters, however, called the move "incomplete", vowing to continue their struggle. According to local residents, inadequate healthcare in the region forces patients to travel long distances for basic treatment. They alleged that healthcare facilities in the region lack doctors, medical staff, and essential equipment, with ambulances either unavailable or non-functional for months. The torch bearer and former soldier Bhuvan Kathayat said, "All eyes in Uttarakhand are on us. Through this movement, we are demanding a policy for better healthcare facilities in all hill districts. Uttarakhand has completed 25 years, yet there is still no dedicated health policy. While we are fighting for healthcare, policies are also needed for education, employment, livestock, and water." "We will peacefully undertake the pad yatra from Chaukhutia to gherao the Chief Minister and Health Minister's residences in Dehradun," he added. On the government's announcement to upgrade Chaukhutia CHC and deploy specialist doctors there, he said, "These are only temporary measures. We are not satisfied. The plan is incomplete. They intend to deploy specialist doctors here, but those doctors will leave the positions they are vacating elsewhere." "The government must recognise that access to healthcare is a fundamental right," he said. Former Dwarahat MLA and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) leader Pushpesh Tripathi said, "This is a fight not just for the hills, but for the plains as well. Healthcare facilities in the plains are also in disarray. People in plains may access private hospitals, but what about the poor who cannot?" On October 12, state Congress president Karan Mahara criticised the government, saying the health department has become a "headache for the people instead of curing theirs." "In this hill state, the health system is in complete disarray. Some hospitals have no doctors, others have no specialists, no machines, no medicines. the condition is so bad that people are forced to take to the streets," Mahara said. State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt said the Congress must introspect on its tenure. "Congress left healthcare in disarray. Our government has made improvements, appointed doctors and specialists, and strengthened infrastructure. But we acknowledge much more needs to be done, especially in remote and border areas," the state BJP president said, attacking the Congress over the issue....