Srinagar, Feb. 10 -- The public healthcare system in Jammu and Kashmir stands at a critical juncture. With nearly 10,000 sanctioned posts lying vacant across government medical colleges, directorates and health institutions, the crisis is not merely administrative rather than a humanitarian emergency. Hospitals and primary health centres, already burdened by rising patient loads, are being forced to operate with skeletal staff. The result is predictable: delayed treatments, compromised care and a growing sense of despair among communities that rely on public health facilities as their only lifeline.

The numbers speak for themselves. Government Medical College Jammu is short of more than 1,400 staff, while its Srinagar counterpart faces a...