Stuck in traffic jam, patient dies on way to hospital at Safa Kadal

Srinagar, May 2:  Inhabitants of Narwara area in Downtown alleged that a critical patient lost his life as he couldn’t reach the hospital due to massive traffic jams in the Old City.

Scores of locals assembled at Narwara Chowk and demanded that roads in the area be fixed without delay. They also appealed to the traffic authorities to ensure that traffic cops are properly deployed in Downtown and adjacent areas.

“There was a medical emergency faced by one of our neighbors and we tried to shift the patient in a vehicle to hospital. It takes just 15 minutes away to reach the hospital from our location, but due to traffic jams and bad roads, we were stuck for two hours at Sekidafar. The patient breathed his last at Safa Kadal,” claimed a local.

The locals said that despite help from police in the area there was no let-up in traffic jams. “Lives are being lost due to traffic jams. On a daily basis, essential services like ambulances and Fire and emergency services get stuck in traffic jams in Downtown. Today one more life was lost, it is time for authorities to understand the importance of traffic management and better roads,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a commuter from the area.

Greater Kashmir did a series of stories on the hardships faced by critical care patients. The same issue of traffic jams along Nowpora Khanyar has been pestering critical care patients and hindering their access to hospitals downtown. In another incident a few days back, doctors had to re-admit a surgery patient to SMHS hospital just 15 minutes after discharge due to a pothole-ridden road near the hospital.