Abdul Majid
Early Times Report
srinagar, Aug 29: With around three dozen deaths during the Amarnath Yatra which concluded Saturday, questions are being raised over the working of the Health authorities who either failed to properly screen health certificates of the pilgrims or allowed vulnerable people to trek to the cave shrine without proper acclimatization to the weather conditions.
Health experts said most of the deaths could have been avoided if the Health Ministry had been dynamic in its approach as most of the vulnerable pilgrims were not properly "acclimatized" and taught the dos and don'ts for the hostile Himalayan terrain.
Even though Health Minister Lal Singh chaired series of meetings to review Yatra arrangements, he seems to have missed emphasis on basic life safety standards, which were needed to be ensured.
Every year, thousands of Hindus undertake the two-month long pilgrimage between July and August to pay obeisance at the shrine dedicated to lord Shiva, located at an altitude of 11,998 feet in the Himalayas.
Officials said 28 deaths of people between 30 and 40 years, were recorded in the first 25 days at altitudes above 10,000 feet. "All deaths were caused by myocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack," a health official said.
He said most of the pilgrims prefer to take the shorter Baltal route which involves a daylong 14-km trek through a steep uphill, leaving them little time to get used to the conditions when oxygen becomes sparse in the high altitudes. Out of the 28 deaths, as many as 22 cases were registered at the Baltal base camp.
Along the longer Pahalgam route, which is 43 km, devotees have to spend two nights on the road before reaching the cave which houses the Shivlingam.
Though the administration had set up 29 health centres on the twin routes, no one investigated the health of pilgrims or asked them to get acclimatized to the hostile atmospheric conditions.
Though deaths are witnessed during the pilgrimage, experts said lot of lives could be saved through proper awareness and examination of the devotees.
"Deaths occurring during the pilgrimage is not a new phenomenon. Of the 622,000 pilgrims in 2012, 130 died. Most of the deceased who had not been physically fit for the arduous climb, high elevations and adverse weather, had undertaken the Yatra," said a leading medico, adding "past experience should have served eye opener to improve facilities."
He said pilgrims as young as 30 having died of heart attack was an "alarming situation."
"There is an urgent need of guidelines to determine eligibility, infrastructure and logistic requirements, basic life support (BLS) trainings for staff on duty, travel advisories, underlying morbidity declaration and screening, evacuation and contingency plans, weather forecasting, alert system, and much more," the expert said.
Despite repeated attempts, Lal Singh could not be contacted for comments. However, a Health Department official said such issues would be taken into consideration for the next pilgrimage. |
