Snowfall Brings Hardships For Expectant Mothers in Rural Kashmir

Srinagar: On January 31, Jammu and Kashmir police received a distress call from Mashkoor Ahmad Malik a resident of Humpathri, DK Marag in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district stating that his pregnant wife is in “deep labor pain” and needs to be shifted to a maternity hospital immediately.

Humpathri is a remote village, around 30 kilometers away from the District Hospital Kulgam. The road towards the village is still not fully motorable.

With each passing time, Malik and his family became anxious. The road was slippery and the family was unable to take her to the hospital.

After some time, a police party of Kulgam reached the spot and shifted the lady to the hospital amid the snowfall.

“We have been blessed with a baby girl. Both my wife and daughter are doing fine. We were discharged from the hospital after three days,” Mashkoor told Kashmir Observer.

He said that the ambulance driver arrived near the spot but couldn’t reach our house.

“The administration also dispatched a 4*4 vehicle but that couldn't reach here. Then J&K police arrived and shifted the patient along with other family members to hospital,” he added

The valley is witnessing a second spell of the much needed snowfall, while it may delight tourists and locals in the plains, it's a different story for those in rural and border areas of Kashmir. For them, it has brought about misery, with many facing significant hardship and health emergencies.

The Jammu and Kashmir police along with the Indian Army have rescued a dozen women so far who found it difficult to reach the hospital as the roads are either blocked due to snowfall or the road was too slippery.

In a similar operation, on February 4, at around 10:30 PM, Army Camp of Vilgam village in north Kashmir's Kupwara received a call from Mushtaq Ahmed Gagi. He reported that his wife, Safoora Begum, was experiencing intense labor pains and urgently needed medical assistance.

“My wife was