Veterans demand new ECHS facility in Mandi district

Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd), Chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen League, Mandi district, has voiced serious concern over the acquisition of the ECHS Polyclinic building at Sihalkipad for the four-laning of the Pathankot–Mandi national highway.

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Thakur highlighted that while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated steps for financial compensation, the ex-servicemen community is pressing for the construction of a new ECHS facility instead. He demanded that NHAI should build a replacement facility under the equivalent value of infrastructure (EVI) model rather than offering monetary compensation.

The existing polyclinic provides critical healthcare services to nearly 30,000 veterans, war widows and their dependents from Mandi and surrounding areas. Many beneficiaries are battling serious health conditions, including cancer, cardiac ailments and orthopaedic issues, and rely on the facility for timely and accessible treatment.

Thakur asserted that uninterrupted healthcare is essential and cited a precedent from Jammu where NHAI constructed alternate infrastructure for the armed forces after land acquisition. He urged the state government and NHAI to act swiftly and develop a new ECHS centre at the site proposed by the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi.

He warned that any disruption in medical services could endanger lives and undermine the welfare and dignity of those who have served the nation.