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HOUSE! VOL 10 ISSUE 14 14 ISSUE SRINAGAR APRIL 05-11, 2021 2021 05-11, APRIL PAGES 16

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WEEKLY EDITION APRIL _ 05-11 _ 2021 _ VOL _ 10 _ ISSUE _ 14

08 COVER STORY 04 FEATURE OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS By Arjumand Shaheen Andrabi

06 CULTURE GRAVEYARD GLORY HUNG HOUSE! By Nasir Yousufi By Marila Latif

14 INFRASTRUCTURE TRIBAL TRAUMA By Bisma Bhat

12 HEALTH CURE OF CULTURE By FPK Desk

Owned, Printed and Published by: Qazi Zaid | Published from: Second Floor, Aqsa Mall, Jehangir Chowk, Srinagar | Printed at: Khidmat Offset Printing Press, The Bund, Srinagar Registered: JKENG/2011/36414 | Features Editor: Bilal Handoo | Layout & Graphics: Suhail Sultan | Contact at: +0194-2475633 | E-Mails: [email protected] | [email protected] 04 FEATURE WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 Occupational Hazards Despite being hailed as ‘unsung heroes’, linemen of power department are grappling with a low-pay, hazardous duty, and lack of post-trauma shock-absorbing system.

By Arjumand Shaheen Andrabi

HE DARKNESS HE USED to drive out with his dauntless duty has now engulfed his own Tlife and liveliness. In the state of powerlessness, he flash- es a beaming smile of being true to his role. But despite risking his own life to light peoples’ homes, the ex-linesman now finds himself as a cast off crew member struggling to feed his family. His shocking plight invokes a telling Kashmiri phrase: “Nan’gie taa’ri lag’un” (Getting electrocuted). Inside his home, hollowness created by his despairing self is blatant. His crippled state makes him a hopeless person bitten and burnt by the shabby affairs of the valley. But before the enforced tragedy—known to devour his tribe, some of whom are often captured roasted on livewires of the valley—the erstwhile eager man would act as a leading light. He now leads a destitute life of a doomed person. The life-changing shock came in 2015, when 25-year-old Nazir Khan came in direct contact with a livewire during the repairing work in his native village, Kalaroos area of district. He fell down from a 10-feet tall electric pole, with a loud thud on a blacktop, and fainted on the spot. He survived the shock, but was handicapped for life. “I was about to finish the work when someone connected the electricity from the source and my head came in direct contact with the livewire,” Khan recalls the fateful day of March 6, 2015, when as usual, he was called up to repair a damaged wire on the pole. “I tried to get off my head from the shock had caused the grievous damage dies or gets injured, they say, they’re not wire with my hands but while doing that and to prevent the further impairment, provided any financial support. the wire engrossed my hands.” they needed to cut down my both arms.” The far cry in this trouble-torn tribe He somehow managed to free himself Khan is among the 70,430 reported remains that they’re being engaged as from wire and fell down unconscious. casual labours engaged by Power Devel- a technical staff without any proper Locals immediately rushed him to a opment Department (PDD) in training and safety equipment. nearby local hospital, where from he and Kashmir. In past when some of these linesmen was shifted referred to Sher-e-Kashmir Due to the dearth of the permanent were seen hanging as a smoke-billowing Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), staff, this casual workforce carries out charred bodies on the high-tension wires Soura, for the advanced treatment. most of the maintenance work across and poles, it created hue and cry in the “In SKIMS, doctors sounded very dread- the valley. valley. ful to me,” Khan recalls. “They said the In the line of duty, when some of them The recurrent ruckus forced the former APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE KARGIL 05

state government to send a detailed duty when he got a call from an inspec- done. But his case is only lingering. project report to New Delhi for setting tor saying he needs to fix the damaged “I was promised by the local executive up of the two National Power Training fuse of a transformer in the locality,” engineer that I would be appointed at Institutes in Jammu and Kashmir. recalls Sajid Ahmad, son of a daily-wage my father’s place on temporary basis,” But due to the paucity of funds, these PDD worker. he says. “But so far, nothing has been institutes could never shape up. This “Despite being warned by the locals, done.” has only made these PDD workers vul- the inspector instructed my father to On his part, the said executive engineer nerable to hazardous shocks. fix the transformer. As soon as he touched makes it curt: “Whosoever has been “While working in the field we’re not the transformer, he got electrocuted, negligent or is guilty, will be brought being provided any power-resisting fell down and died on spot.” to the fore and shall be treated accord- safety kit or any kind of life insurance,” After the accident, Sajad says, the ing to the law.” says Mushtaq Ahmad, a PDD casual inspector changed the timing of tripping But when contacted on this crucial and critical matter, wherein these workers are dying right under the nose of the department, Chief Engineer, PDD, Aijaz Dar excused himself for “I do not have any detailed information about it”. Amid all these, many of these casual labours—serving the department from more than two decades now—are await- ing salaries and regularisation. “Our salaries are pending since months,” says a PDD worker. “We’re now tired of going to offices and protesting for our monthly dues. If other government employees who work within a limited time slot can get sala- ries on time, why can’t we, even after working 24/7?” To back these “unsung heroes”, K- netizens have lately started throwing their weight behind them. And yet the apathy refuses to die down on the real world. “We too have families,” says Warid Ahmad, who heads North Kashmir-based PDD casual labourer camp. “We may be forced to quit if not paid our dues.” The PDD bosses, however, say there’s no such case of pending salaries and the labourers enlisted with them are given the monthly salary on time. Meanwhile, at his home, Nazir Khan narrates how his life-changing injury made him bedridden in the hospital for almost a year. “I did not have enough money to pay the hospital bills,” he says. “The local dailywage workers had to raise funds to clear my bills.” The favour, however, deeply distressed the self-made Khan who had stepped into his late father’s shoes quite early in his life. As a breadwinner, he would always labourer. details and further shocked the family. fight from the front for his family. “Only the senior officials and the peo- Later, an FIR was lodged in the local “But now,” he breaks down, “I’m ple working in towns and cities are police station, but Sajad says, it was handicapped and cannot go to the field provided the same. While leaving for fabricated and totally vague. work or earn some other livelihood.” work we are never certain about our “The FIR copy reads that there was He now looks after paperwork in his safe return to home.” some earth wire problem in the trans- office, but rues the job hasn’t paid him In the last one decade, more than 400 former,” the son of the PDD worker says. a penny from last nine months. PDD workers have reportedly died in “The FIR had not stated the actual cause “I’ve nothing to feed myself and my Jammu and Kashmir, while among the that transformer had the damaged fuse.” family,” Khan laments. “I had never 700 injured workers, many have been Almost five months later, Sajid is still imagined this shocking life for my fam- rendered crippled for life. making endless trips to the government ily. This helplessness kills me every day “My father had just come home from offices to get his father’s documents now.” FP K 06 CULTURE WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 Graveyard Glory While tulips have taken center-stage in Kashmir, it is the Daffodil that announces the arrival of spring for the locals. A common sight in Kashmir’s graveyards, Mazaar-posh, or Yemberzal is not only part of local literature, but symbolises love, longing and resurrection.

By Nasir Yousufi

URROUNDED BY A NUMBER surroundings with sensuous aroma. grow in abundance. The graveyard is of myths, the Daffodil Narcissus The flower is among the first to bloom a one such place, where the symbolic Poeticus, knows as Nargis in in early spring, announcing the depar- yemberzal can be seen blooming as Sthe sub-continent, has tradi- ture of winter, and the onset of bahaar. early as February, thus earning an tional and cultural significance for the Though is a epithet ‘Mazar Posh’. people in Kashmir. Known locally as home to rich flora and fauna, flowers Daffodils find a mention in writings Yemberzal, the white petalled beauty like Nargis bear a special significance dating back as early as 371– 287 BC. marks the end of the harshest period of for the people. “By ending February, they are the winters. Even as the flower can be spotted first flowers to sprout in this graveyard,” Standing proud, wearing a majestic growing wildly in the valley, there are says septuagenarian Muhammad Ismail charm, this legendary flower fills the some peculiar places, where the they Sofi, walking towards his family grave- APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE 07

yard in Malkhah in the outskirts of bol of wealth and good fortune. and artists in Kashmir and around the Srinagar. Kashmiris are also fascinated with world. “Since people see them bloom mostly this flower where it is considered as a If William Wordsworth from the in these soils, which are the eternal symbol of love, and resurrection after west saw ten thousand daffodils at a resting places of our dear ones, the sight the storm. glance, dancing along the bay in his of a flower outrightly flashes memories For Rayees Ahmad, a teacher by pro- popular poem Daffodil, Neda Nath associated with the departed ones,” Sofi fession, the flower is a message of love, Nadem, a renowned Kashmiri poet adds, while turning nostalgic at the bonding and life. pens down a revolutionary piece, mention of the flower. “There are many things associated whose lines became a part of movie with yemberzal. Its growth at graveyards songs too. Symbolic legacy in particular, can be symbolized with The Narcissus acquires its name from Yemberzali aavij zaavij thuff dith, the Greek legend of a young and hand- Tsolmut chhu traet toofaano. some hunter named Narcissus. It is said Bomburuss Yemberzal beyee sam- khaavon, Nerunn prein armaano, Toofaan shaitaan neri zung fatrith, “Since people Saavon munz madaano. O delicate Narcissus! see them You have endured a lot of suffering. We shall make the Narcissus meet bloom mostly her love, They shall fulfil their desires, in these soils, This satanic hurricane, shall depart shortly, which are And die down in the open fields. In his popular poem Yemberzal, poet Ghulam Ahmed Mehjoor says, the eternal He placed me in a Predicament! Bewildered, what can a Yemberzal resting say, Like the spring, the morning breeze, places of our and the dew. A popular Kashmiri folk song, derived dear ones, from the first ever Kashmiri opera per- formed – Bombur ta Yemberzal, is il- the sight lustrative of the love story of the Narcis- sus (Yemberzal) and the Bumble Bee of a flower (Bombur), and revisits the central im- portance of the flower to Kashmiri cul- ture. outrightly Poet of the east, Allama Iqbal also flashes mentions the flower in a lamentation: Hazaaron saal nargis apni benoori pe memories rotee hai, Badee mushkil se hotaa hai chaman associated me deedawar paidaa. Aligarh Muslim University has also with the used the flower in its tarana: Ye meraa chaman hai meraa chaman, departed Mein apne chaman kaa bulbul huun, Sarshaar-e-nigaah-e-nargis huun, Paa-bastaa-e-gesuu-sumbul huun. ones,” “A popular dirge, Kashmiri Marsiya, mourning the tragedy of Karbala is also that as a result of his extreme vanity, titled as Nargis,” says Marsiya reciter he fell in love with his own reflection and an lecturer, Zakir Ali Moham- in a pond. love, and the bonding that we have with mad Qasmi, while deliberating on the One version of the story states that our dear ones who have departed from importance of the flower in local art Narcissus then drowned in the pond this mortal world,” he says. and literature. while gazing at his reflection, and it is Like the literary works, the flower is from here that the Narcissus Daffodil Romance with literature once again blooming to enthral the sur- bloomed. Short lived, unseen and unknown to roundings in Kashmir. And while tulips The flower might be seen as a sign of many, Nargis has fascinated poets since have today taken center-stage, it is the gloom and vanity in the West, but in ages. The flower has been widely men- yemberzal which has announced the China the same flower is seen as a sym- tion in the imagery created by poets bahaar. FP K 08 COVER STORY WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 HUNG HOUSE! Such is the level of desperation that those falling in long lines to avail JK number plates say Kashmir is only witnessing a ‘demonetization moment’ all over again.

By Marila Latif

PORTING A SIGNATURE Himachali cap, 56-year-old Mo- hammad Azad Pir elbows his Sway through the desperate crowd in Regional Transport Office (RTO), Sri- nagar. A hotelier in Himachal Pradesh’s Dhar- amshala, Pir had come home in his own vehicle for a spring retreat when his ride was cut short. “I was driving in Pantha Chowk area of Srinagar when the traffic police seized my vehicle,” Pir said. “They did not even check my documents and fined me for driving without documents.” Pir’s homecoming joy ended on a sour note after he landed in a crowd of ground- ed drivers of Kashmir. Standing in the queue with him is a sexagenarian man with strained red eyes. He shows his registration card valid up to 2029 and Delhi’s residence proof specified. Yet, he couldn’t stop the seizure. “Where is the integration they claimed for which Article 370 was abrogated?” the fuming elder asked. “Do we need to purchase our vehicles from Lahore now?” Despite having valid NOCs and all the related documents, hundreds of people having non-local registration numbers are being seized by police across Kashmir. The sweeping road operation was launched after RTO Kashmir Akramullah Tak ordered for re-registration of non-local numbers, including a road tax of 9 per cent, on March 28. Most of the seizures held in south Kash- mir’s , Central Kashmir’s Bud- gam and Srinagar. The order come following the recent Lawaypora attack in which three CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) men died and the vehicle used for the attack had a Haryana number plate. Throngs of people are already moving hither and thither in the RTO office in Srinagar. A majority of them have simi- lar questions that is on the summon form APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE 09

– in a column – nature of the offence. The state or UT, you need to have an NOC But in Kashmir, he added, the prob- traffic police mention that the driver (no objection certificate) which is valid lem is that a majority of people doesn’t was without documents, even if all the for 6 months and during that time you have their vehicles registered on own- documents are on hand. need to register your vehicle,” Tak told er’s name, causing trouble to the en- “Once you buy a vehicle outside your FPK. forcement agencies when accidents or 10 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021

crimes take place. any state, the validity of the road tax “If someone has purchased a vehicle remains valid for 15 years. But since it’s in New Delhi and drives it in Kashmir not written in the Motor Vehicles Act, for years, he needs to pay the road tax Nazir said, the already paid road tax can because the vehicle is pacing on the roads be non-refundable. of Kashmir,” Tak said. “If administration is concerned about “All the states across impose the rules, then why is it that the base-4 road taxes and the money is utilized for vehicles are getting re-registered in maintaining roads. Earlier, J&K had Kashmir when the same have been banned meagre taxes but we have now increased in New Delhi to combat pollution?” Na- it for the improvement of our roads.” zir asked. “Don’t we have an environ- However, Junaid Nazir, a transport mental problem in Kashmir?” expert who runs NGO ‘Roads and safety’ Senior officials in the RTO, Srinagar differs from the administration, saying told FPK that the main dilemma lies other states do not ask for road taxes but with the locals who shuttle between the Rs 600 for re-registration process, if a valley and outside after every six months car owner is permanently moving to for business related activities. another place. For such cases, the officials said, the Moreover, if you register your car in administration has not issued any pro- APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE NOWSHERA 11

“All the states

across India

impose road taxes

and the money

is utilized for

maintaining roads.

Earlier, J&K

had meagre taxes

but we have now

increased it for

the improvement

of our roads.”

had to now push us into this tricky situation reminding many of us of the demonetization phase of 2016,” Showkat Sofi, a banker who has taken off from his office to secure the release of his seized car. The situation is grimmer for those who frequent many Indian states in their own JK number plate cars. Jimmy Rah, a timber merchant from the Anantnag area of south Kashmir, believes it’s safer for Kashmiris to use non-local vehicles outside the valley. “A few months ago, I parked my car in the Mayur Vihar area of Delhi,” Rah cedure yet. said. “While returning, I saw my car “Only those vehicles that don’t have scratched and ‘Kashmiri kutay’ was proper documents are being seized,” written on the bonnet. From then, I Javaid Koul, SSP Traffic Police, told never purchased a car with a JK number FPK. “And we have every right to do so plate.” according to the Motor Vehicles Act.” In another case, four Kashmiri stu- However, Snober Azad, a lawyer in dents of Chandigarh Group of colleges the district court complex, Srinagar, had decided to visit Kasauli in Himachal said that according to Section 47 of the Pradesh for the weekend which is 57 Motor Vehicle Act, a motor vehicle reg- kms from Chandigarh. istered in any State shall not require to “Whenever the police see the JK num- be registered elsewhere in India. ber plate, they immediately stop vehicles “But theory and practicality are way for checking,” one of the students said. more different,” she said. “Whether you are in Himachal Pradesh, Amid all this, Kashmiris are once Punjab, Delhi or Mumbai – the conduct again finding themselves at the cross- is same.” roads. And now with this order, the students “As if the recent crippling years weren’t said, Kashmiris are neither free to move enough to erode our economy that they in their home, nor outside. FP K 12 HEALTH WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 Cure of Culture As the cold continues to linger and shiver life, the winter-induced skin ailments have once again reared their ugly heads in the valley. To ward off these cold demons, many are resorting to good old methods to save their skin

By FPK Desk

HE COMFORTING CLICK spun for the little girl as she has lately “Shuh was a constant problem in the of the knitting needles can developed itchy red lumps on her toes, winters of yore,” Begum while recol- be heard in Syeda Begum’s or “Shuh” in local parlance. lecting her youth in the valley says. Troom after many years. The Along with jammed taps and frozen “There were not many skin creams or octogenarian from Srinagar’s pipes, the harsh winter in the valley, medicines to apply back then. In such locality is interweaving a small pair this year, has also increased the sever- a situation some useful home-remedies of woolen socks from bright colored ity of skin problems associated with came handy.” yarn while her little granddaughter the extreme cold, the major irritant Begum narrates how her mother looks earnestly at her devotion. being the itchy and swollen feet or preserved the water in which she boiled The treasured woolen gift is being “Shuh” (frostbite or chilblains). dried vegetables or “hokh syun” (stocked APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE 13

for the winter in Kashmir) during cooking. “The same water was used to wash off my swollen feet,” she recalls. “It came as a quick care to ‘Shuh’.” In absence of this water, Begum says, another remedy included dipping feet in a container filled with warm saline water. “Salt was avoided if one had a fungal infection between the toes (lo- cally known as ‘Zael’).” To heal the dry skin and cracked heels, Begum says some drops of ‘oum teel’ (mustard oil) were applied on the hands and feet. While Begum’s chronicles of classic cold give one peek into those bygone re- harsh winters, many Kashmiri house- ali- study holds have already resorted to the old t y stress- methods to save their skin during the l i k e es, is ongoing cold season in the valley. cold? ” supported Apart from the resurgent longing asks Mas- by the clus- for Kanger and hukh syun in some rat Amin, a tering of cases urban pockets of Kashmir, many practicing phy- among family households are using the traditional sician from Srinagar. members. treatment to keep their skin healthy. “If at all we are going old “Occurrence of similar le- “All pretentions of being cool about school, it shows our lapsing faith in sions in one or more family members winters ended this year akin to our modern medicine.” was seen in approximately 60 per cent deceptive dwelling bereft of proper But despite these brickbats, many of our cases. Further, people who have insulations and weather-proof system,” prefer the homemade treatment to a low body mass index (BMI) and thus says Shakir Mubeen, a medical rep- keep their skin healthy when malady a lower quantity of body fat, are sig- resentative from . like chilblain is giving them tough nificantly more likely to develop cold “My mother majorly resorted to time in the valley. related injuries,” it says. ‘Koshur ilaaj’ this winter by making “The severity of the skin cases has Dr. Shah says the most important some drinks and ointments manda- increased this year because of the factor in the prevention of cold re- tory to save our skin from the harsh extreme temperature,” says Dr Faizan lated skin disorders involves main- and hostile weather.” Shah, senior Dermatologist at Gov- taining the temperature at a comfort- In deep and frosty south which re- ernment Medical College (GMC), Sri- able level by the use of ACs, central ceived a sizeable snowfall this year, nagar. heating or the traditional ‘hamam’ Mubashir Hakeem had to increas- “I have observed chilblains to be “Dipping your hands and feet in ingly use salt and oil treatment to much more common as compared to warm water for a couple of minutes keep frostbites away. frostbite,” Dr. Shah continues. several times a day goes a long way “Since my mother believes that “Chilblains occur due to an abnor- in keeping the skin warm; even after most of these skin drugs are ineffec- mal susceptibility to cold and its de- removing your hands from the water,” tive in countering the cold, she made velopment is related to cold and damp he says. “Thick socks and gloves can a routine for me and my siblings to conditions; occurring even at above- also help to keep the extremities warm wash our feet with hot and saline zero temperatures.” and thus prevent cold related injuries.” water before going to bed every night.” A recent study by GMC, Srinagar, But as it rains when the spring is Along with the early-morning mus- titled, ‘Prevalence of cold dermatoses around the corner, Syeda Begum seems tard oil massage, Mubashir says, the in ’ shows that the relentless in her pursuit to stockpile nighttime hot-water washing helped following groups were more vulner- some spun woolens for her grand- prevent skin cracks, dryness and able to the development of these cold daughter. swellings. induced skin disorders. The elder is dismissing the growing However, terming these measures “Children were the most likely to gruff against her ‘vain devotion’ by a bit far-fetched at a time when drug- develop perniosis or chilblains among firmly adhering to her experience of dominated market of the valley remains all age groups, with more than 65 per surviving 80-odd winters in Kashmir. stockpiled with the best cold creams, cent of our cases occurring in the “Chillaikalan may not be there many are denouncing these old meas- pediatric age group. Females were anymore, but ‘posh-e- teer’ [spring ures as a sign of “medieval mindset”. also found to be more likely to suffer cold] is equally tormenting if not han- “Its fine that this winter pricked from cold related skin problems as dled properly,” says Begum. our illusory balloon of living, but how compared to males,” the study shows. “Kashir never makes it easy for good is this to resort to the done and A genetic background for the ab- anyone. That’s way we have to stay dusted methods to counter the harsh normal susceptibility to cold, the prepared to save our skin here.” FP K 14 INFRASTRUCTURE WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 Tribal Trauma Visuals of pregnant women taken out on wooden stretchers from the tribal belts of the valley resurfaced on social media this winter. Behind the petrifying picture is the futile and equally fatal healthcare infrastructure of Kashmir’s countryside.

By Bisma Bhat

ARESSING HER BABY bump and cherishing her impending motherhood turned dark for Afroza on a cold December night Cin 2020, when a sudden shooting labour pain ended her sleep. In a painful state, the 25-year-old realized that it was going to be a long treacherous journey before she would lap and sing a lullaby to her new born. Some 30 kilometers away from Srinagar, she lived in the hushed hills of Fakir Gujri — where in the past many pregnant wom- en were taken out on cots amid snow and slippery slopes. Even as the snow was yet to carpet the landscape and make slopes slippery in her native village populated by the Gujjar community, going downhill in darkness was still a daunting task. But when that midnight pain became unbearable, Afroza’s husband, Manzoor Khatana, rushed to the nearby Primary Health Center (PHC) to avail an emer- gency health service. But his desperate A common refrain among Kashmiris “PHC at Fakir Gujri is not under my run ended on a disappointed note. remains that these PHCs often lack neces- mandate,” Sameer Matto, Director Health Absence of an ambulance in health emer- sities, like sterilization equipment for in- Services Kashmir, snapped the query. gency had been long taking toll on his fection control, labour rooms, oxygen sup- When asked about the staff strength in 2000-strong tribe. Mindful of the same ply, X-ray and ECG facility, and even emer- PHCs, Matto said that the number of doc- apathy, Manzoor had already saved a cab gency drugs. tors available with the department has driver’s number in his cellphone. In January 2021 itself, many patients been placed in the peripheries. He hung With trembling fingers that night, he from far-flung areas bypassed these pri- up soon after facing a query on the infra- dialled the number. To his luck, it was mary health centres and trekked to the structure of the PHCs under his jurisdic- quickly answered. Sensing the health emer- district hospitals for emergency medical tion. gency, the cab driver left his warm-bed in assistance. PHCs are the first base, acting as referral a cold night, and pulled over his vehicle in “The PHC near my home is nothing more units for six sub-centers. They flow into front of Afroza’s home in no time. than a pharmacy,” said Manzoor, sitting community health centers (CHCs), followed As usual fearing doctor’s absence, Man- in his snowbound shelter overlooking parts by the sub-district and district hospitals, zoor avoided the PHC and straightaway of Srinagar. and then medical colleges and tertiary drove his wife to Kashmir’s only mater- “It’s useless to go there for treatment. care centers, such as SKIMS and SMHS nity care hospital, Lal Ded — the healthcare You cannot find a doctor there except for hospitals in Srinagar. centre earlier frequented by the couple for Tuesdays. For rest of the days, the PHC is “On average, primary health facilities regular check-ups and ultrasonography run by a basic health worker.” had only 51% of physical infrastructure (USG). Three years ago, informed an insider, a and amenities available,” reveals the 2019 Despite those visits proving to be an USG machine was installed in Fakir Gujri study entitled, ‘Traversing the margins: uphill task for the gestating mother, she PHC. “It still awaits an operator,” he scoffed. Access to healthcare by Bakarwals in finally delivered her child in a very frantic Such a treatment is only forcing these remote and conflict-prone Himalayan re- manner. tribals to travel to district or tertiary care gions of Jammu and Kashmir’. Such desperate drives have become an hospitals to undergo a basic test like USG. “Health workforce shortage [in PHC] afflicted feature of Kashmir’s trauma- This unchecked grassroot trickle, medics was found to be the greatest predicament ridden grassroots—provided with ill-equipped say, is only overburdening Kashmir’s spe- inadvertently increasing the barriers, as PHCs. cial healthcare centres. 47.8% of human resources were in place APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE 15

indicating a shortage of 52.2% as against the norms. Also, the score encumbering the availability of equipment was found to be unsatisfactory at 44.25%.” It was also found that there was also a shortage of medicines and consumables owing to the supply-side constraints in the facilities as only 42.2 per cent of the med- icines from the essential drug list were available on the date of the survey. Despite these telling studies exposing the poor rural healthcare system, the authorities are only steering clear of con- troversies. This ‘thick-skinned’ stature prevails despite this ‘pan-Kashmir’ pe- ripheral health crisis at times becoming a rallying cry. In fact, before abrogating his wannabe “Imran Khan-Arvind Kejriwal” political- blend image, ex-bureaucrat Shah Faesal during his maiden political rally in his These winter health crises created by summers. hometown as Jammu & Kashmir People’s the poorly-staffed and stocked PHCs aren’t However, when a Bakarwal family couldn’t Movement poster boy had questioned the confined to pregnancy cases alone. follow this annual cycle due to the pan- lack of health facility in northern pockets Lately, an elderly man was also carried demic, they ended up losing their two of the valley. Much of that anguish had to on a wooden stretcher amid snowfall from children in Kashmir’s harsh winter. do with the lives lost in translation. Zubair’s village for the emergency treat- Due to the intense cold, 10-year-old Sahil But while the question is still being ment. had developed a fever and became uncon- asked—“what’s stopping the ‘development’ “You can hardly find doctors in these scious during the night hours of January driven officialdom from making grassroots primary health centres,” Zubair continued 18, 2021. The family living in a makeshift healthier”—young lives like 20-year-old to depict the grassroot healthcare trauma. tent in district’s Brinal Lammar Akhtar continue to suffer due to the larg- “We’ve to travel a long distance to access village was not able to take him to the er indifference. healthcare.” hospital as the roads were cut-off due to Hailing from district’s Zarkar But these detours don’t always yield the snow which resulted in his death. Shalidar village, Akhtar delivered her desirable treatment at district hospitals The PHC was 3 kilometers away from child on the road after she was carried on bereft of emergency drugs and other es- their accommodation. Next day, their a wooden stretcher during a heavy snow- sential diagnostic equipment, said tribal 6-year-old daughter also showed the same fall in January 2021. activist, Zahid Parwaz Choudhary. symptoms and died on way to the hospital. As there was no labour room facility “That is why,” Choudhary added, “the As the incident sent shockwaves across available in her village PHC, Akhtar’s tertiary care centers are crowded with the valley, the district administration shift- husband, Papa Poswal, called his neighbors patients because district-level hospitals ed the family to rented accommodation. and tied her on a wooden stretcher. To don’t cater emergencies.” “If the government had provided the protect her from the snow, she was covered In the backdrop of the recent forest evic- accommodation earlier, those kids would’ve with blankets. tion drives, these unending health trauma been alive, but like always, the officials The villagers carried her on shoulders are only making the tribal activists to always act late,” said Choudhary Irshad through ankle-deep snow. But on the way raise a war cry for the marginal change. Khatana, a tribal welfare activist. to the district hospital, 5 km away from “Despite government assurances, trib- Passing the buck, Director Tribal Affairs her home, she delivered her child on a al people still struggle to access even basic J&K, Mohammad Saleem said the tribal wooden stretcher. health facilities,” continued Choudhary, family’s accommodation was the respon- “It was a very awkward situation for me who heads Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar sibility of the concerned district admin- and my husband,” Akhtar recounted her and Bakarwal Youth Welfare Conference. istration. “Our mandate is to just place happy-turned-haunted life moment with “PHCs in rural areas do not serve the the health infrastructure in place, while painful expressions. “I experienced im- purpose at all. They’ve just occupied a as putting the manpower in the health mense humiliation and hardship.” piece of land. Especially in winter, people centers is the responsibility of the health Like Akhtar, 24-year-old Sufiya was also have to travel on foot through ankle-deep department.” carried on a wooden stretcher in Lehan snow and carry the patient on their shoul- Meanwhile, at the frozen heights of Fa- Dajan village of to a district ders. What could be more shocking than kir Gujri, daily-wager Manzoor Khatana hospital at Salar village. Sufiya was ex- women delivering on roads!” is getting anxious about his tribe’s taxing pected to deliver child on January 6, 2021. Notably, after Kashmiris and , health trips to Srinagar hospitals. “It was snowing heavily and there was Gujjar and Bakarwal are the third largest “The government under Janani Surak- no transport on roads, nor was any ambu- ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir. sha Yojana (JSY) grants one-time financial lance available,” Zubair recalled his nerv- According to the 2011 census, these tribals assistance of Rs 1400 to pregnant women ous run to PHC. constitute 11.9 percent of the population for giving birth in a government hospital,” “I had no option than to call my friends — 1.5 million of 12.5 million people. he said. and carry my wife on our shoulders on a Since Bakarwals do not have permanent “But to receive it, most of us have to wooden stretcher. We trekked for four homes, they migrate to plains in Jammu spend double the amount on travel to the hours to reach the district hospital.” during winters, and come to Kashmir in Srinagar hospital!” FP K 16 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE APRIL 05 – APRIL 11, 2021