Shadow Correspondent
Jammu,Jan, 28
Infuriated over the J&K administration and Department of Health and Medical Education in particular for miserably failing to take prompt action to prevent the recurring mysterious infant deaths in Ramnagar of late, a battalion of Panther activists spearheaded by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and others staged a vociferous protest demonstration inside the Directorate of Health Services in Jammu today. While raising slogans against the government, the angry protesters accused the authorities of Health department of criminal negligence in handling the grave situation which has left the people panicked and shocked.
Addressing the media, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh regretted that despite the regular complaints being registered by the Panthers Party with the concerned authorities of the Health department, the latter grossly failed to take appropriate preventive measures in time resulting in tragic deaths of several infants in various villages of Ramnagar. “The top officers and bureaucrats sitting at the helm of the affairs are squarely responsible for the loss of precious lives. With demise of one more infant and others in critical condition, the unabatedly occurring deaths still remained unanswered. The unexplained cause of mortality among the infants is due to the culpable negligence of the incompetent officials who owe an explanation and are liable for the tragedy. They should tender their resignations without any delay”, anguished Harsh said.
Describing the sorry state of health infrastructure in Ramnagar, Mr. Singh revealed that not only SDH Ramnagar but the Health Centres in the peripheral and far flung hamlets of Ramnagar constituency had been facing acute deficiency of doctors, para-medical staff and life saving medicines. He said that while the doctors and the allied staff were attached in cities and town on political and extraneous considerations, the poor patients were left in lurch with none to pay heed to their sufferings. “Taking the advantage of the grim scenario, several self styled quacks have flourished in Ramnagar who are practicing freely without having valid licence. They have reportedly colluded with the departments of Health and ISM and are putting the lives of the people at risk by prescribing spurious medicines”, Harsh divulged.
Seeking the status of the report which was supposed to be submitted to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare by the visiting Central team of experts, Mr. Singh sought the outcome of the investigation carried out by the deputed doctors to ascertain the cause of paediatric deaths and instituting requisite public health measures. “The public is in panic. The healthcare system is in doldrums with doctors and concerned officers being clueless about the disease threatening the life of the toddlers. Expedite the probe and take action to stifle it from consuming further lives”, cautioned Harsh. He further called upon Commissioner and Director Health Services for upgrading the Health infrastructure in Ramnagar and provision of adequate doctors, specialists and other para-medical staff. He also asked the concerned authorities to check the menace of quacks and spurious drugs in the villages of Ramnagar with exemplary punishment to fake practitioners before it was too late.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Partap Singh, Shiv Dev Singh, Khajoor Singh, Ravinder Jamwal, Surinder Chouhan, Onkar Singh, Rashpaul Singh, Rohit Sharma, Amandeep Singh, Pawandeep Singh, Rakesh Verma, Ravinder Singh, Tilk Raj, Vijay, Subash besides others.
