Lockdown hits media,claims life of asthma patient

In Baramulla,a groom and his bride had to spend hours on the road before they were allowed to head home. But the 50 baratis were made to spend the night in the open....

In Baramulla,a groom and his bride had to spend hours on the road before they were allowed to head home. But the 50 baratis were made to spend the night in the open. In Rafiabad,among the few places where restrictions have not yet been enforced,people took to the streets in hundreds. And in Srinagar,people defied curfew in Chanpora.

The separatists,meanwhile,urged people to march to Hazratbal for late night prayers on Friday it is Meraj-ul-Alam,one of the holiest nights for Muslims when thousands congregate at Hazratbal shrine every year.

The security lockdown in the Valley led to the death of at least one person asthma patient Mohammad Asadullah who had a serious attack at home in Keil Mohalla,Nowhatta. The family tried to shift Asadullah to hospital but there was no curfew pass. The CRPF men in the lane outside the house didnt allow the family to step out. Several hours later,the family managed the phone number of the local police station and called for help. We sent a police vehicle and took him to hospital but he died, a senior police officer in Srinagar told The Indian Express. It was too late.

For the first time in almost two decades,even reporters are unable to step out there is curfew not just in Srinagar and towns of the Valley but also on news. Officials have been told not to speak to journalists and even doctors have been threatened with action if they do so.

Hospitals are unable to operate doctors and paramedics of the two main hospitals in Srinagar,Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital and Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS),are unable to report for work because curfew passes have been cancelled; patients cannot reach the hospital; and,medicine and food stocks are running out.

I walked seven miles this morning to reach the hospital. At each check point,I had to plead to let me pass. I first thought I wouldnt go but two of my patients are in intensive care and they will die if I am not around. Thank god there are are no shoot-at-sight orders, a senior doctor at the SMHS told The Indian Express. We usually have 6,000-7,000 patients visiting our OPD everyday. Today,the hospital looks deserted.

Late last evening,CRPF men,angry at being pelted with stones by youths,barged into the emergency room of the SKIMS and allegedly assaulted doctors,paramedics and attendants. Today,doctors protested and raised slogans. Sabzar Ahmed,a paramedic at the trauma unit of the SMHS Hospital,was beaten up by CRPF men while he was waiting for an ambulance to take him to work. He has been admitted with multiple injuries.

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SMHS Hospital Superintendent Dr Waseem Qureshi told The Indian Express that when his Casualty Medical Officer informed him that the security forces were not letting ambulances ply,he contacted the divisional administration. Now our ambulances are allowed to move and we are able to ferry emergency staff to the hospital. But the patients are unable to reach. There was hardly any attendance in the OPD today.

Policemen entered the emergency ward of the Chest Disease Hospital in Dalgate area after being targeted by stone-throwing youths. They thrashed some of our staff, Hospital Superintendent Dr Gazzanfar told The Indian Express. We have already complained to the local police station.

Izhar Wani,a correspondent with AFP,has been stuck in his office for two days now. He had an emergency at home because a tear smoke shell landed in the courtyard of his house where his two daughters and wife were sitting. My daughters fainted because of the smoke, Wani told The Indian Express. I have been trying to go home but I am helpless. Every time I step out,the policemen stop me. His home is in Sonwar locality,just a mile from his office.

Mark Magnier of Los Angeles Times was hit with a lathi by a policeman when he stepped out of his hotel on Boulevard Road on the Dal banks. The police took away his cellphone and smashed it on the road.

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A spokesman of the Press Guild of Kashmir said: The authorities have put curbs on the local media and cancelled curfew passes issued to them. As a result,no local newspaper could get published on Thursday. But media crews coming from Delhi and elsewhere are being provided all facilities to report. This is sheer discrimination against local mediapersons and organisations. We fail to understand what the government is trying to convey by adopting such a discriminatory approach.