Returning to Kargil -- Docs operate underground

Returning to Kargil -- Docs operate underground
GAURAV C SAWANT

KARGIL, MAY 15: ``Good, we can cut another 15 seconds,'' says a doctor closing his stopwatch. This is no routine exercise at the Kargil district hospital. It is an exercise to wheel in patients into the underground Operation Theatre (OT) of the hospital.

Sounds incredible, but the district hospital here now has four underground rooms, including two OTs in their final stages of completion. Pakistani shelling, last year, had resulted in huge destruction at the hospital. The OT was damaged and the hospital had to be shut down temporarily. ``Soon after the war, the construction of underground OTs began,'' says Nisar Ali, a doctor at the hospital.

Almost every house, every school and every office in Kargil has a concrete underground bunker. The bunkers at the hospital are more than 10 feet below the ground and its rooms include one sterilisation room and a ward, apart from the two OTs.

In fact, the Government is paying for the construction of bunkers for all the residents. It has even laid down the specifications for their construction. ``It is the responsibility of the State to take care of its people. Therefore, the Government is not only paying between Rs 8,000 to Rs 16,000, but is also providing construction material to residents of Kargil. The Government officials personally go and check whether the construction of bunkers is per specifications before approving it," says an official.

After last year's hurriedly constructed bunkers, affluent residents of the town have got plush and very comfortable bunkers constructed this year. ``Our hotel was shelled last year and splinters even damaged our home. That time, the bunker we had was nothing better than a deep hole in the ground,'' says Zaheer Bagh, son of a hotelier in Kargil.

This year, their bunker is ready with thick wool carpeting, kerosene `bukhari', electricity and a television set. Bagh's bunker also has a kitchen and an underground toilet. ``It would be very stupid indeed to have such a large bunker and then get killed trying to answer nature's call during shelling,'' he adds with a wink.

On the outskirts of the town, most bunkers are smaller and covered with rock and concrete. There is no electricity inside just a few odd utensils, some candles and woolens. The administration is also starting a shelling drill in all Kargil schools, but that is after shelling sirens are installed, activated and made operational. The fear of renewed shelling still haunts the locals. ``Who knows when the enemy might start shelling all over again. We have to take precautions,'' says Rahmat Ali, a building material supplier.

The prices of land have also gone up in nearby relatively safer villages Trespone, Minji and Shankoo where both affluent people and religious societies are taking land in advance for protection against future shelling. One Kargil school is also looking for a building to rent so that the students can be shifted there in case there is shelling.

The district administration is also working on a plan to shift the offices of essential services health, civil supplies including food and police out of Kargil. The plan is to be able to reactivate the services within half an hour of shelling.

Last year, then deputy commissioner (DC) Shaleen Kabra had got special permission to divert funds to build an underground OT and other rooms at the hospital.

``This year, as soon as more funds are made available, we will build more Israel-style underground structures,'' says a district administration official.