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Pulwama: Continuing its efforts in having patient friendly services the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK) started its first cashless transaction services at District Hospital Pulwama on Thursday, said a statement.

As per statement the  District Development Commissioner Pulwama  Muneer Ul Islam officially launched the service by inaugurating this facility in presence of Zonal Manager J&K Bank Tasaduq and Medical Superintendent District Hospital Pulwama Dr Rashid Para.

These services  according to sttaement will pave way for complete cashless transactions as desired by the Government post demonetisation.

The hospital administration under the aegis of DHSK had worked hard to expedite this service and make it a reality. It will lesser down the inconvenience faced by attendants remarkably and reduce the time spent by them at the payment counters, adedd the statement.

Director Health Services, Kashmir Dr Saleem ur Rehman while congratulating the Hospital Administration said that it will definitely improve the financial transparency and such initiatives will go a long way in making various hospital services patient friendly.

He further said that instructions for replication of this initiative across other hospitals run by the Directorate has already been issued.

Srinagar: The Ministry of Home Affairs had promised last year to restrict the use of pellet guns against civilian protesters and explore other options, but in January, it made fresh authorisation of 4,949 pump action guns for CRPF units deployed as Rapid Action Force, and Mahila Batallion in J&K, taking the total number of pump action guns to 5,589.

Around nine pump action guns will be available with every company (around 120 personnel). More than six lakh matching cartridges, commonly referred to as pellet-shots, have also been authorised, up from 1.25 lakh last year, DNA India reported.

Currently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has 640 pump action guns, widely known as pellet guns, but in the coming months more than 4,000 will be procured. The idea is to adequately equip every unit of the paramilitary with the ‘low-intensity munition’ to deal with frenzied crowd in demonstrations and during counter-insurgency operations, said the DNA report

“Earlier, pump action guns were available with only those units facing civilian protests and demonstrations like those in downtown Srinagar,’’ said a CRPF commander, adding that these protests have now spread across the Valley to even villages in south and north Kashmir. “It has become necessary that every company has adequate non-lethal weapons. Now, these guns will form part of every company,’’ he added.

Last summer, an estimated 600 civilians, including schoolchildren, were blinded after being hit by pellet shots in the eyes and above waist-level, in the mass protests triggered following the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani. Another 8,000 were grievously injured with multiple pellets lodged in their vital body parts. This time round, metal deflectors will be used so that pellet shots are not dispersed above waist level.

“Pellet shots are used as a last resort. If verbal warnings, tear-gas shells don’t push back the crowd from the site of operations, then we use pump action guns,’’ said a senior CRPF officer from the operations division. PAVA (pelargonic acid vanillylamide) shells that were recommended as an alternative to pellets have been used at minimal as they were found to be ineffective to deter the crowd.

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NEW DELHI: With pellet guns leaving hundreds of protesters in Jammu and Kashmir with severe eye injuries, a modified version of the weapon will now be used to ward off any protest ahead or during any anti-militancy operations.

CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad, who is retiring on Tuesday, said the paramilitary force had taken the decision of modifying the pellet guns to minimise injuries.

The modified version of pellet guns will have a “deflector”, an attachment on the muzzle end to prevent the pellets from going up.

The force has tasked a special BSF workshop to deploy metal ‘deflectors’ on the muzzle of these guns so that shrapnel in the pellets do not hit above the abdomen region.

CRPF troops deployed in Kashmir Valley have been asked to fire the pellets aiming at the feet of the protesters now as against laid down procedure of hitting the abdomen area.

Giving a tough message, he said the paramilitary force was now actively coordinating with Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) and army to undertake counter- militancy operations rather than being only a force rendering law-and-order duties.”The situation is not as”.

“The situation is not as ‘naazuk’ (sensitive) as it was last year… The intensity with which it (stone pelting) happened is no longer there… The situation of stone pelting on security forces is not bad as earlier. “The pellet guns are one of the many options that we will use when we operate to control protesters in the coming days. PAVA (packed with chilli) shells have a long shelf life and they are good in certain situations… But we have made it clear that the CRPF man on ground will use whatever the situation demands,” Prasad, who headed the force for a year, said.

“We have asked our men to fire at the feet now… By using deflector there is only a two per cent chance that the shot fired may hit above the point of aim as compared to the rate of 40 percent earlier,” a CRPF officer said.

He added that by improvising the pellet guns, the injuries can be minimised but cannot be brought to a zero.

The CRPF chief said the CRPF, with about 50 battalions in the Valley (about 50,000 personnel), is now increasingly training and operating with the SOG and this can be seen as a “great change” in the working of the force in the recent months in the state.

He said the CRPF has excellent coordination with the army and Kashmir Police and the initiative to increase its role in counter-militancy operations, what the force did in 1990s in Kashmir Valley, is to ensure that operations are launched or undertaken as soon as information comes in and without any delay of time.

The DG added the force has come across situations where locals pelted stones on security forces during operations, like stated by Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat sometime ago, but this was in situations where either some local boys had joined militant ranks and were encircled by security forces or the locals were under threat from militants to disrupt the forces in operations.

“These incidents are happening… We have been able to contain it. If militants have local support… That is to be ascertained,” he said.

Prasad added the negative use of social media and media was influencing the youth of Kashmir to take up arms as he desired that it is the responsibility of these platforms to ensure that the youth is not diverted to these things.

Official data said post the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani on 8 July last year, a total of 2,580 CRPF personnel, with 122 being hit grievously, were injured in various incidents of stone pelting and attacks, 142 incidents of stone pelting on its camps and 43 instances of petrol, acid and kerosene bombs thrown by stone-pelters on the force were recorded.

Srinagar: A female patient from Srinagar city Monday alleged that a doctor at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura forced her to conduct ‘Bone-Profile’ test at a private diagnostic centre Karan Nagar.

      Ironically the Doctor has penned down the name and the mobile number of the private diagnostic centre and asked the patient to call her for the time and date of the test. “I had some problem in bone and for that purpose I visited SKIMS Srinagar where a bone specialist (name withheld) treated me. I was supposed to go for a Bone Profile Test, but instead of conducting the test at the hospital, the doctor advised me to visit a private diagnostic centre Karan Nagar. He wrote the mobile number and the name of the diagnostic centre on the prescription letter vide Patient ID number 513477,” the patient Hakeem Gulshan Ara told news agency CNS.

    The relatives of the patient alleged that the doctor refers all the patients for Bone Profile tests to the said diagnostic centre where he works on commission basis. They demanded a probe into the incident.

     When contacted, an official from SKIMS administration said that Bone Profile tests are also conducted in the hospital and the doctor should not ask his patients to visit private centres. “Please ask the patient to visit the hospital along with her prescription. We will look into the matter,” he said.

     Pertinently, a bone profile blood test is used to evaluate problems with the bone. This test determines the proteins, minerals and enzymes involved in bone turnover. (CNS)