Doctors told dna that they were finding it difficult to handle the sheer number of injured.
As the number of eye injuries need for surgeries spiralled in Srinagar hospitals, Union health minister JP Nadda has directed a three-member high-level team of eye specialists from AIIMS, New Delhi to be sent to Jammu and Kashmir to assist the state in providing medical care to the persons injured in the on-going law and order problem in the state.
37 people have been dead and hundreds have been gravely injured in the clashes between residents and security forces during protests that had erupted across South Kashmir in the wake of the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, 22-year-old Burhan Wani, killed by the forces on July 8.
According to the ministry's statement, the "high-level team of eye experts" reached Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Nadda assured all support to the state in the matter.
The team was sent after J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti spoke to Nadda Wednesday morning requesting him to send a team of specialists, most importantly, retina surgeons, to take care of the injured.
Reportedly, the state government will also shift patients out of the state if they need super-specialised care not available there.
Hospitals in Srinagar have been reeling under the flood of patients since Saturday, July 9. Doctors dna spoke to said it was not possible for them to handle the sheer number of injured, and that, apart from injured eyes, most of them had injuries to vital organs above the waist. "The fact patients have bullet and pellet injuries above the waist speaks volumes," said president of Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Dr. Nisar Ul Hassan Malik. He stressed the need for specialists, especially trauma specialists in the peripheries of South Kashmir rather than just Srinagar.
Doctors have been running out drugs and eye drops due to the curfew imposed in Srinagar, as all the medical shops have been shut.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also raised the issue in a series of tweet to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to send eye and trauma specialists to the Valley. He wrote, "Hon @narendramodi ji. After Kerala fire you carried a plane load of burn specialists with you. Please send eye/trauma specialists to Kashmir. The injured include security forces persons and young boys who risk losing their sight forever. This is the time to reach out with a healing touch."
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