Swati Sharma
Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink…. !!!
It was before 4th of this month that I used to love rain, much before I knew it could take such a disastrous face and ruin the heaven on earth. That day was unusual, our hospital was not in order. The patients were being shifted from JVC, either to SKIMS Soura or to their homes depending upon their state of health. We didn’t know what was happening before Dr. Showkat Zargar, Director, SKIMS with his tremendous team of doctors and administrative staff came to our hostel and warned us that the flood was imminent and promised to ensure our safety. Few local students were permitted to leave on their own because their homes were in the city, while the others like me and many more from all over the state of J&K were with the college, scared, when Dr. Showkat Zargar calmed us by promising that the students who were with them will be taken care of in much better way. I still remember his words because he honoured them. He proved what he said, EIGHT days and SIX safe places, one after the other, its not a joke. Not only just moving us to safer places, but ensuring like our parents that we get to eat each meal of the day. Moreover, we were not his only responsibility, but SKIMS hospital at the time of such a disaster was a big issue for him to handle.
After the flood, there were many organizations helping the residents of the Valley to cope up with such a dreadful condition. Indian Armed Forces, NDRF and civil administration, all were committed to save the precious lives in the valley. The Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Naval Marine Commandos were putting their best efforts round the clock, not even fearing their lives while doing their duty to minimize the sufferings and restore normalcy.
We salute our armed forces for their patience, enthusiasm courage and dedication towards their duty but at the same time, Dr. Showkat Zargar, Director SKIMS has proved himself to be a very efficient and great leader who dared to take right decision at the right time at this tough test of life.
It is not just mankind which has suffered, but other forms of lives were also affected.
Many animals could not escape and painfully died in the flood which in the near future, likely to cause spread of various water borne diseases for which the state health services are initiating proactive measures. Communication breakdown added to the sufferings by restricting contact between the loved ones and thus enhancing the mental trauma and also the initial unavoidable delay in rescue operation was primarily due to communication failure.
Thank God, finally the nature calmed down, the rain stopped, the sun came up and it was bright throughout the week. It allowed the rescue operations to start and go on smoothly and gave the people a ray of hope. All the regions and all the religions of the country united and contributed food, medicines and clothing to the crown of the country.
For some, this flood took their life time savings, their homes, their food, crops and everything and for others it was not just material which was lost. They lost lives, lives of their parents, their children, their spouse, their loved ones. While some blessed ones like us who managed to survive are left with a painful and shocking experience which will never escape our mind.
Apart from this, business, tourism, hotel industries and many others are likely to face an unavoidable setback. The impact of this flood is not confined to the immediate future, but it will take number of years for the valley to restore its beauty and regain its tittle of the Heaven on Earth. We, the medical students of SKIMS, request each and every one to join us and pray to God for peace to the souls of the people who lost their lives in the arms of this flood and strength to their families to bear this loss. May God bless everyone the power to restore and come back on track soon and forget this tragedy.
(The author is Final Year MBBS SKIMS Medical College Srinagar)
Follow our WhatsApp channel