MoS (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Saturday visited the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital to enquire about the welfare of the injured people in the Kishtwar cloudburst disaster after he came back from the Chashoti village where the disaster struck on August 14.
Soon after his arrival from Kishtwar after an overnight journey from the site of the cloudburst at Chashoti in Kishtwar, Union Minister Jitendra Singh went to the GMC hospital in Jammu to enquire about the well-being of the injured persons admitted there and to arrange the necessary help required.
The Minister, who is also the MP representing Kishtwar, announced the setting up of the MP’s Help-Desk in the GMC Hospital, which would be attending to the requirements of the needy injured persons, providing them all the required items, including medicine, food, etc., and arranging even for their transport.
The Help Desk will be directly in touch with the offices of Principal GMC, Jammu. Jitendra Singh, who is also an eminent medical professional himself, went around the patients one by one, inquired about their health and being a professional medical person himself, he was also seen time to time providing some advice and suggestions to the treating doctors.
During the visit, the team accompanying Jitendra Singh also handed over the pre-prepared kits, including fruit, eating items, and other necessary requirements for the injured patients admitted.
Singh said all arrangements have been made not only to fully provide the required treatment to each of the patients, but even to arrange for their referral outside Jammu, if required.
However, he said, luckily, there is no such patient who requires to be shifted outside. Later on, while addressing the media, flanked by Principal Government Medical College, Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, and local MLA Arvind Gupta, Singh said, in total, there have been 67 patients admitted but after he took the round and had a discussion with the Principal and the treating doctors, it was decided that at least 15 out of these could be discharged today itself, which means that the remaining number of injured patients from the Kishtwar cloud disaster tragedy will now be limited to 52.
The Minister said he has, however, also advised the treating doctors that most of the patients who have very minor injuries or soft tissue injuries, which do not require any intervention or surgery, could be discharged sooner rather than later so that they could go home and have a feeling of well-being. He said, some of the patients do not have much injury, but they are still in panic, and the shock resulting from the sudden catastrophic event that struck them and caused injuries to them.
When asked about the condition of the injured patient, Singh said, most of the patients were quite settled, and luckily, none of them had any head injury or any vital organ injury because most of the injury was caused by the debris or the material, which was mostly muddy and soily.
Some of the injuries were also caused because they tried to flee from the site and had a fall and injured themselves resulting in either soft tissue muscle injuries or bone injury.
As a result, he said, it could be reasonably and confidently concluded that none of the patients had any life-threatening injury.
Singh said, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally monitoring the situation, all the government machinery has been mobilised.
He appreciated the efforts of Principal Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, the various departments of the Jammu Medical College, including the Orthopaedic and Neurology departments, as well as the administration, for their prompt action.
He said he had a particular word of appreciation for the nursing staff and the assisting staff because, beyond their line or mandate of duty, they had also come forward to act as counsellors and psychological morale boosters for each of the injured.
He also reassured each of the patients and their relatives that, as an MP from that area, the MP Help-Desk set up by him would be available for their assistance round the clock, and they should not feel hesitant.
Later, when asked whether the number of the pilgrims was planned to be reduced following this catastrophe, Singh said, the weather forecast by IMD had already predicted heavy rains for the three days, but it is difficult to predict a cloudburst, which happens as a result of a number of local factors which lead to changes in that particular section of atmospheric air or milieu.
He said that the gathering of about 2,000 people there also could have been possible because it was a long weekend holiday with Independence Day and the festival of Janmashtami.
Most of the people visiting the shrine on that day happened to be from the districts of Jammu, Reasi and Udhampur because most of the locals had already completed the darshan.
He also attributed the heavy casualty to the fact that at the site where the cloudburst happened, there was a lungar, and many of the people were either having their food or some of them, after having finished their food, were getting ready to leave for the Yatra.
However, he said, all the positive inputs from the media persons or the other sections of civil society are well taken, and if required, we could also introduce regulation of the numbers, if need be, as suggested in the times to come.
