Srinagar, Aug 21: Amidst the ongoing unrest in the Valley, ferrying patients to hospitals and extending medical help to the needy is no less than a Herculean task. And when the endeavour is voluntary it gets tougher.
 But against all the odds, the Jammu and Kashmir Red Cross Society, (JKRCS), a voluntary humanitarian organization, has been reaching out to the besieged people to at least meet their medical emergencies and save the precious lives.
 Besides catering to the injured in Police and CRPF action, the JKRCS has been lending a helping hand to normal medical exigencies including delivery cases even from far-flung places of the Valley.
 “Our 24-hour helpline is flooded with requests for medical assistance from across the Valley. For past over 60 days we have been continuously ferrying the injured in ongoing protests and other patients with routine medical emergencies to hospitals and providing them medicare. It is a challenging situation for us,” Feroze Ahmad, the Honorary General Secretary, of State Red Cross Society told Greater Kashmir.
 Pertinently, the JKRCS works in coordination in some projects with the International Committee of the Red Cross which has been spearheading the global movement for humanitarian assistance.
 Feroze maintained that the JKRCS is guided by seven fundamental principles comprising humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
 “Whenever someone seeks our help we don’t ask for his credentials, religion or beliefs. For us everybody is equal and our priority is only to provide whatever assistance is possible,” he said.
 Feroze said the volunteers of JKRCS spread across the Valley serve as a bridge. “But still we feel that there is lack of awareness about the society. We want to have volunteers in every locality. We will soon take help of local opinion leaders and heads of Mohalla committees to reach out to more people who need medical or other assistance,” he said.
 Feroze said during the ongoing unrest, the JKRCS’s seven ambulances have ferried over 500 patients to hospitals from far-flung areas in north and south Kashmir. “Besides we have also shifted 57 bodies. Our ambulances are attached with various hospitals including SMHS and anybody in need can utilize these,” he added.
 The Medical Officer of JKRCS Dr Rohini Bhan said 15 patients have been provided free life saving drugs. “Most of these patients are economically weak. Some of them have undergone renal transplant and needed immediate dialysis. We provided them required medicines and even are bearing the cost of dialysis with drugs for a single patient costing Rs 18,000 per month,” she said.
 Officials said due to continuous curfew coupled with heavy influx of patients there was shortage of medicines essential for operational support in various hospital of the City. The JKRCS responded by providing medicine, donated to it by ICRC, worth over Rs 40 lakh to the associated hospital of Government Medical College and SKIMS Soura.
 The medicines included drugs, antibiotics, X-Ray films, intra-venous fluid and surgical goods

Lastupdate on : Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
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