Anantnag: In a major initiative aimed at transforming cancer care across South Kashmir and adjoining highland regions, the South Kashmir Civil Society (SKCS) has made an earnest appeal to leading technology conglomerate Wipro and the philanthropic ecosystem associated with Azim Premji to help set up a state-of-the-art PET-CT imaging facility at Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag.
The appeal seeks Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic backing to establish a Ga-68 DOTANOC PET-CT unit, a cutting-edge diagnostic modality crucial for the detection, staging, treatment monitoring, and management of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and several other complex malignancies.
Addressing a Critical Regional Healthcare Gap
Established in 2018, GMC Anantnag has rapidly developed into a premier healthcare hub catering to the southern districts of the Kashmir Valley, as well as remote communities from the Pir Panjal and Chenab belts. While the college has expanded its specialized clinical arms including Radiation Oncology, the lack of high end molecular imaging tools like PET-CT remains a glaring impediment to comprehensive oncology services.
Currently, cancer patients from economically modest and rural backgrounds are forced to undertake exhausting, costly, and repeated journeys to tertiary centers outside the district or region simply to undergo vital diagnostic scans.
“For a patient battling cancer, advanced imaging is not merely a machine; it dictates the entire roadmap of treatment whether the cancer has spread and whether therapies are succeeding,” representatives of SKCS highlighted. “Having to travel long distances while physically frail and financially distressed adds an unbearable burden to an already traumatic journey.”
A Strategic Public-Philanthropic Partnership
Highlighting the long-standing humanitarian vision of Azim Premji and Wipro’s legacy in community healthcare development, the civil society urged the corporate group to partner with the Jammu & Kashmir administration and GMC Anantnag.
The proposal calls for a phased, sustainable collaboration encompassing like Provision and installation of a Ga-68 DOTANOC PET-CT system.
Technical infrastructure, radiation safety systems, and initial operational facilitation.
Collaborative technical and feasibility assessments alongside hospital leadership and regulatory authorities.
Establishment of enduring radiopharmaceutical supply networks and local workforce training.
An Investment in Human Dignity
SKCS emphasized that the initiative transcends routine infrastructure additions, describing it as an essential diagnostic lifeline that could spare thousands of families financial ruin and agonizing transit delays.
“This appeal is made for the mother who cannot afford another trip outside the valley, the anxious family waiting for biopsy and staging answers, and the oncologist who needs precise imaging to save a life,” the appeal noted. “A decision to support this facility would become an enduring investment in dignity, equitable access, and hope across South Kashmir.”
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