General physician Parvaiz Sajad Shah examines a patient at the Bandipora district hospital | Picture credit: Athar Parvaiz
On a chilly November morning, 54-year-old Arsheeda Akhtar lay under a thick blanket at Srinagar’s Khyber Hospital, waiting patiently for her dialysis session to end. She has been under dialysis for the last five years. Her family, most of whom are labourers, have already spent a lot of money on the treatment.
Under the Ayushman Bharat programme, a government health assurance scheme for low income groups, Akhtar was entitled to free dialysis at the hospital. But since March 2020, her Ayushman Bharat golden card stands cancelled due to “fraud”. The family is now struggling to find the money.