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Ailing hospitals leave patients in the lurch PoK response on travellers’ list awaited People awaiting Muzaffarabad bus forms
lathi-charged
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Ailing hospitals leave patients in the lurch Jammu, March 21 Poor patients run from pillar to post as the doctors hardly find time to attend to their duties in government hospitals. Infact, they are busy practicing in private hospitals and clinics. The patients complain that doctors and para-medical staff are generally insensitive towards them in the hospitals. It is worth mentioning that the Centre has approved a grant of Rs 100 crores to the medical college hospital here so as to upgrade it to the level of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The government medical colleges here and at Srinagar are in an awful condition and no steps have been taken to improve their condition. The emergency unit and other wards are littered with the used syringes and waste material. The general wards stink as no attention is being paid towards cleanliness. The shocking incident of the tap water being pumped into the dialysis machines has rocked the medical college here and the government has constituted a committee to look into the matter. Three of the five dialysis units are out of order and tap water, full of bacteria, is reportedly being pumped into the two other machines that are generally used in the emergency cases. Several other machines and equipment in the Radiology Department and other sections are mostly out of order and patients are thus forced to get the tests done from private clinics. There are allegations that a high-level nexus is behind this. The condition of the hospitals started worsening soon after Mr Lal Singh relinquished the office of Health Minister on becoming a member of the Lok Sabha. His surprise raids in hospitals, particularly at midnight, kept doctors and para-medical staff on their toes. But the scenario has completely changed now and it is an uphill task for a patient to trace a doctor particularly in district hospitals and other institutions. Another incident of expired medicines being issued to patients in a hospital has come to light. An employee of the hospital at Udhampur was caught some time ago while pilfering the medicines. The condition of the blood bank is equally deplorable. Proper screening of blood to prevent spread of AIDS is reportedly not being done scientifically. Effective steps have not been taken by the medical authorities in tackling tuberculosis which has again started showing an upward trend in the state. Only three of the 14 districts have been taken up under the Centrally sponsored scheme of the Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) that is to cover the whole country. |
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PoK response on travellers’ list awaited Jammu, March 21 Official sources said the list of the first batch of 30 passengers had been sent for clearance by the government across the LoC. “We expect the list of Pakistani civilians cleared by authorities in Muzaffarabad for our approval within a day or two.” they said. According to senior government functionaries, “the period of stay for the visitors has been fixed for 30 days. It will not be extended, except in cases of emergencies.” They said each visitor, after entering into Kashmir would have to report to the police station of the areas he or she would be staying during his or her visit. The drill has to be repeated twice a fortnight. Under the decision, if any visitor from across the LoC wanted to visit other places in Jammu and Kashmir, he or she would have to inform the police prior to leaving the station. Going out of the state and visiting any other Indian state would be prohibited for Pakistani visitors entering into Jammu and Kashmir from Uri. In case any visitor was found crossing the Lakhanpur barrier on the Jammu-Punjab border, he or she would have to be arrested, the police authorities said. The drill for keeping visitors under surveillance had been completed so that none was able to give a slip to the local authorities for carrying out any subversive activity, they said. The only issue that worries the government is that the existing laws “do not restrict any visitor from across the LoC in getting married in Kashmir.” A police officer said, “In case a Pakistani boy married a Kashmirs girl, it might lead to instant separation because the boy can neither prolong his stay in the valley nor take the woman, he had married, to Pakistan occupied Kashmir.” He said, “However, the problem may get complicated in case a woman from across the LoC married a Kashmiri boy.” “Under the state subject law a non-state subject woman marrying a state subject in Jammu and Kashmir becomes a citizen of the state,” he explained. The officer said it was under this subject law that scores of women, including those from Pakistan, had been able to stay in Jammu and Kashmir for the past over two decades. Even women from Australia, the USA, the UK, Germany had settled in Jammu and Kashmir after getting married in the state. |
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People awaiting Muzaffarabad bus forms
lathi-charged
Srinagar, March 21 Men and women were seen waiting in separate queues since morning to get the forms for travel on the historic bus service, starting April 7. The police had to resort to lathi charge to control the crowds, officials said. Nearly 500 forms have been distributed today at various counters in the state, Regional Passport Officer John Shilshi told PTI. Owing to the keenness shown by the people the government has decided to issue 500 forms at various places in the entire state to cover all districts. Duly filled forms would be taken back shortly and those approaching the passport offices in time would be given priority, Mr Shilshi said. Asked whether the Pakistani authorities had handed back the list of 60 persons selected for travel in April, he replied in negative.
— PTI |
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‘Unity’ bus divides Abdullahs Srinagar, March 21 This was clear when the National Conference President, Mr Omar Abdullah, today said that his father and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah’s statement in the Rajya Sabha on travel documents for Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus was different from the party’s stand. Mr Omar Abdullah has sought clarification from his father over the latter’s statement made last week, wherein Dr Farooq had questioned the entry-permit system in place of passports for travelling on the proposed bus. “He told me what he had told the Rajya Sabha about the entry-permit system soon after, and I realised that it was not the party’s stand,” Mr Omar Abdullah told a press conference here today. “The views expressed by my father are his own and different from the position of the party,” he said. Further elaborating on his father’s statement, Mr Omar Abdullah pointed out that only the statement from the party president, general secretary and spokesman should be treated as the views of the party. The former union minister also asserted that the beginning of the bus service was the “direct outcome of 9/11”, as it had its impact on the Asian countries adding that the situation had changed in the state after the attack on WTC. “The impact has been directly on Jammu and Kashmir, otherwise the decision on bus to Muzaffarabad could not have been taken,” he pointed out. Appreciating the other confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan, Mr Omar Abdullah sought a commitment on the increase of the frequency of bus service to promote trade. Mr Omar Abdullah demanded an increase in the frequency of bus service and the capacity of the bus. |
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