As the COVID-19 threat continues, the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma patients in Kashmir have been forced to stay back in the Valley this winter, exposing them to potential complications due to the freezing cold.
As per various studies, J&K is one among few north Indian states which report COPD figures equal or greater than 4,750 per 100,000 population — the highest across the country.
With the onset of winters in Kashmir, every year hundreds of COPD patients from different parts of the Valley travel to places like Jammu, Delhi and Mumbai to escape the nail biting cold with temperatures plummeting at least seven degrees below the freezing point.
“I have been visiting Jammu during winter for the last twenty years but this year I have decided to stay in Kashmir because of Covid-19 outbreak,” said Abdul Rehman, 70, a resident of Maharaj Gunj area of downtown Srinagar.
“It becomes very difficult for me to stay in Kashmir during the harsh winters as my chest feels like it is contracting but I shall have to compromise this year,” he said.
“I used to take my grandfather to Jammu during every winter for the last eight years but this year we have decided to stay here only because the fear of COVID has gripped everyone especially those suffering from pulmonary diseases,” said Azhar Bashir, a resident of Dal Gate, Srinagar.