Shafaq Shah
The government decision to block mobile services in Kashmir has added to the miseries of people with the families of injured persons, undergoing treatment in hospitals, being the worst hit.
Cellphone services, barring the postpaid network of government-owned BSNL, remained suspended for second consecutive day Saturday, much to the inconvenience of the people.
Khateeja Bano was one of the many such frantic people who were left stranded in the wake of the communication blockade.
A woman in her early 50s, Khateeja had come from Kupwara in a load carrier to see his nephew who is undergoing treatment for bullet injuries at Bone and Joint Hospital, Barzulla.
“I have not seen my nephew since he was shot by the troopers. But couple of days ago he had asked his mother to call me. And I couldn’t resist but come to see him,” says Khateeja.
She came in a load carrier of his neighbour to see his nephew. “No one in her family was ready to allow her to go to the hospital because of the hostile situation. But she didn’t listen to them and came to my house and requested me to accompany her to the hospital. And I couldn’t say NO,” says her neighbour, Javaid Dar.
Risking their lives the duo left home late Thursday evening. “We left around 9 in the evening. The troopers stopped us at many places, but I feigned illness and they allowed us to go,” says Khateeja.
“It was 11 in the night and I tried to call my sister so that she could guide me where exactly we had to reach. I didn’t know mobile services have been blocked. I am an old woman and don’t know how to handle a phone, apart from making and receiving calls. Infact when I left home my son dialed the number of my sisters and told me to re-dial on that number only,” she says.
When Khateeja’s phone didn’t work, she asked Javaid to call on the number from his phone. And when both of them failed to contact her sister they realized something was wrong.
“We had reached Hyderpora. A few private vehicles were plying on the road. I stopped one to enquire about it and he told me that mobile services have been suspended,” says Javaid.
The duo reached Bone and Joint hospital at 12 noon and started looking for her nephew. “I am an arthritis patient. I cannot climb stairs. But here I was made to do so. Even after an hour of frantic search I couldn’t find my nephew. I again tried to call my sister, but to no avail. The hospital authorities told us that he might have been shifted to SMHS or SKIMS Soura,” says Khateeja.
The duo approached the ambulance driver to take them to the hospital, but he advised them to stay in the hospital for the night. “The driver told us that the government has deployed extra forces so it will not be safe to travel.”
At 5 in the morning, Khateeja and Javaid left for SKIMS in their load carrier, navigating through lanes and by lanes of the city. “At SKIMS, we were disappointed not to find my nephew.”
The duo drove returned to SMHS hospital and there the management helped her in locating her nephew. “I couldn’t believe that I am seeing my nephew. If mobile would have been working we would have easily reached here.”
“The government is leaving no chance to make our lives difficult. First, they maimed my nephew and then by disconnecting the mobile connection they deprived us of communicating with each other,” says Khateeja.
Like Khateeja, there are many patients and attendants who have been facing a tough time since the communication blockade.
“My son has been hit by pellet. We have been her for a week. Today my husband has to come here so that I can take some rest, but I have no idea where he is since morning. I am worried about his safety,” says Qurat.
Ambulance drivers also complained about the chaos. “Since morning there is a mess in the hospital. We couldn’t pick up doctors and other staff from different routes. They would usually call us in the morning and tell us where they were waiting. But today I picked only a few doctors whose address I knew, the rest I couldn’t,” a driver said on the condition of anonymity.
In a statement, President of the Doctors Association Kashmir, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan Malik said: “It is ironic that cell phone services go off during medical emergency. On one hand helpline numbers are provided to people in view of medical emergency, and on the other hand mobile services are suspended”
“At this point of time doctors who are treating patients need to communicate with their colleagues for a better medical intervention. And mode of communication is mobile phones.”
