Patients bearing the brunt of traffic jams as more than 5 lakh pilgrims have so far visited Kedarnath & Badrinath shrines in last two weeks
Saturday, 21 May 2022 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
In the wee hours of May 16, the relatives of 70 year old Rameshwari Bahuguna rushed her to the base hospital in Srinagar from their residence in the heart of Srinagar city. She was complaining of dizziness and was vomiting intermittently. After some initial tests and treatment the doctors of the hospital referred Bahuguna to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh. An ambulance was hastily arranged in the morning for shifting her to AIIMS. The Bahuguna family had not imagined that the huge rush of pilgrims on the busy Srinagar- Rishikesh route which is part of the Delhi- Meerut- Haridwar- Badrinath National Highway number 58 would prove fatal for her. On normal days the 110 kilometre distance is covered in about 2 hour 45 minutes by an ambulance but on that day, the vehicle took about four hours. “My aunt died minutes before the ambulance reached AIIMS Rishikesh. She could have lived had the ambulance reached on time,’’ said Shagun Uniyal, niece of Rameshwari Bahuguna.
The above mentioned case is not an isolated example as the huge and unprecedented rush of pilgrims in this Char Dham Yatra has thrown the traffic on the Yatra routes out of gear. Ambulances getting stuck in traffic jams have become a common sight on Yatra routes. Narrating his experience one ambulance driver said that traffic has increased many folds on many important roads of the state after the onset of the Yatra which has resulted in regular traffic jams. He said that police personnel deployed on the Yatra route help in clearing the way for the ambulances but at places where there are no policemen, the ambulances get stuck. On the Badrinath route the traffic usually moves at a snail’s pace near Rishikesh, Devprayag, Srinagar, Aanimath near Joshimath and other places.
A similar situation prevails on the Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri routes and one can witness ambulances stranded in the long traffic jams. As per the data shared by the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), a total of 5,00,625 pilgrims have so far visited these two shrines. The portal of Badrinath opened on May 8 while the portals of Kedarnath temple were opened on May 6 this year.
The data of the 108 emergency ambulance service shows that the number of cases served by it on Char Dham Yatra locations has increased tremendously this year. The service has so far served 64 cases on Yatra locations in Chamoli district from May 1 to 19 this year as compared to only 17 during the similar period last year. Similarly in Rudraprayag district the service had served 77 cases on Yatra locations from May 1 to 19 last year while this year this figure has increased to 150 cases.
The state head of the 108 emergency ambulance service, Anil Sharma accepted that the traffic congestions affect the movement of ambulances during the Yatra. Sharma said that the average response time was 24 minutes 59 seconds on Char Dham Yatra locations from May 1 to 19 last year and this year it is at 22 minutes 30 seconds. He added that the drivers of ambulances stationed on Yatra route have been directed to keep their vehicles in such places from where they can respond to the emergency calls properly.
The principal of the Government medical college Srinagar, Dr CMS Rawat told The Pioneer that after the commencement of the Yatra the number of patients in the OPD of the hospital has increased by 20 per cent. He said that strict compliance of traffic rules and increase in public awareness on giving priority to the ambulances would help in solving the problem.
