Uttarakhand floods: Do-gooder docs rush to ghost town

Even as the meteorological department has predicted more rains in Uttarakhand, a team of do-gooders paid little attention to these warnings and landed in Badrinath on Saturday morning. A team of doctors from Doctors for You, an NGO, was probably the first team of civilian doctors to reach the spot to tend to the injured and the sick stranded in the hilly terrains. Leading the team is Dr Ravikant Singh, who had also rushed to treat the riot victims in Assam’s Kokrajhar district.

He said the situation on Ground Zero is pitiable. “The problem is acute in the hilly areas. On reaching here, we set up a make-shift medical camp near the helipad and saw scores of patients. Many suffered from severe fatigue, stress or needed oral hydration. But the common problem was diabetes and hypertension. Shortage of medicines is making it worse,” said Singh over phone.

For two days, the doctors examined over 200 stranded pilgrims. Most of them, Singh said, were from Maharashtra. “It’s a sorry situation. When an army chopper lands, at least 50-60 people rush, hoping to get onto it. However, only 10 can go at a time. I met a man from Maharashtra whose wife died. He wants to return home for her last rites. I am trying to get him help. Our work here has extended much beyond just providing medicines,” he said. 

On Monday, Singh came down to Dehra Dun keeping back one of his colleagues in Badrinath with a few life-saving drugs. “There are areas which are more inaccessible and where medical help is needed most. I plan to go to another location or at least make arrangements for my team to reach there,” he said.