Yasmeen Manzoor
Srinagar 05 Jan (KNB): Every year, people die due to extreme weather conditions or asphyxiation, a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from abnormal breathing, across the Kashmir valley, claiming the largest chunk of the total deaths.
Life in Kashmir during winters is miserable, the water bodies including the Dal Lake go into a freeze, water taps in the homes and the main supply lines also get blocked as the water running in them turns into ice. In such intense cold, people during winters usually use gas heaters to keep themselves warm, but in some of the cases many people have died and led to nausea, as the gas heaters emit carbon monoxide which is harmful to human health.
According to the medical advisers, the excessive use of heaters often leads to nausea or even death. Children, pregnant women and their unborn babies, older people, and people with chronic illnesses such as heart and lung disease are at increased risk.
On friday night, a heart wrenching incident happened at Bemina Srinagar due to suffocation caused by gas heater, claiming death of five family members including a child which is the most traumatic.
In one more incident in Burran village of Pattan in North Kashmir’s Baramullah district, a 13-year-old boy died and three others were hospitalised due to asphyxiation.
Few days ago in Anantnag district, a 65-year old man died due to the severe cold.
While talking to KNB, Mir Imran said, “Every year people in Kashmir die due to suffocation and severe cold. Tragic and sudden death of 5 members of Tangdar family is very heartrending. The death of a child is probably the most traumatic. They all died of suffocation caused by Gas heater last night at a rented accommodation at Bemina. The blame for the deaths is directly on the administration for unsteady supply of electricity. People are forced to use Gas heaters which are harmful as they emit carbon-monoxide”.
“Jammu and Kashmir has a potential to produce 16,475 MW of hydro power. What they have harnessed they are not giving 10% of that to us. A total of 3,263.46 MW has been harnessed on three western rivers from Jehlum, Chenab and Indus through state,” he further said.
Mudasir Ahmad resident of Bemina said, “Survival in Kashmir during winters is very harsh due to severe cold, and here we are not having any facility from government among which electricity is the basic need, we are bound to use gas heaters which is very harmful and causes death every year, Suffocation is the most common and accounts for up to 75 percent of deaths.” (KNB)
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