Shortage of essentials hits Kashmir

Kashmir is facing a shortage of essentials including medicines, baby food, food grains, and vegetables.
Abdul MajeedWani, a resident of BaghiMehtab area of Srinagar uptown said he is not able to purchase baby food from any of the departmental stores in the area.
“All the departmental stores have run out of baby food,” he said.
Wani said he had also visited the relief camps in the adjoining areas looking for baby food but could not find it anywhere.
While there is an acute shortage of baby food, most people though are complaining about the shortage of medicines.
Fayaz Ahmad of KhomeniChowk, Bemina said he was not able to purchase the drugs that he has to take regularly.
“I am not able to get the medicines either from the pharmacists or any of the relief camps set by local volunteers or the department of Health,” he said.
Kashmir valley was hit by a massive flood, the worst ever in a century on September 6.
The government and administration were caught unawares with government failing to use its machinery to sound a red alert for evacuating the people from the low lying areas of the Valley.
Public address system was not used to alert the population and most people living in the danger zones slept without knowing the dangers of staying put in their habitations.
These days, long queues can be seen at the medical camps set across the city, many people are coming to the camps not for getting medical advice but for medicines they are not able to get from the pharmacists and druggists.
Kashmir has a large number of diabetic and hypertension patients and the drug stores have already run out of their medicine.
Talking to us, DrNadeem, who was attending patients at the medical camp on the Rambagh-Jawahar Nagar Bund, said Kashmir was short of antibiotics like OfloxinOrnetzol, Cefixime, Azithromycin, Levofloxacin and Amoxicillin, antihistamines like anti-allergic drugs, ointments like BetamilGm and chlorine tablets.
Flood-hit people said there are also not able to purchase phenyl from anywhere.
“We are in need of phenyl as our homes are stinky and there is every possibility of an outbreak of an epidemic,” said Dildar Ahmad Ahanagar of Maharaj Bazaar locality. “I am not able to get phenyl from anywhere, not even the relief and medical camps have any.”
Apart from medicines, baby food and anti-infectant like phenyl, Kashmir is also short of food grains, vegetables, flour, and skimmed milk.
“Our area was not flooded and we did not face much problems during these days but now we have run out of the food grain stock,” said Jamsheed Ahmad Sheikh of Sanant Nagar locality. “Now our situation is just like those of the flood-affected who are surviving on relief material.”
Sheikh said people had also run out of rest of the food stock like flour, pulses and skimmed milk while vegetables are not found being sold anywhere now.
“How can anyone survive in such a condition,” he said. “I have not seen such scarcity of food items all my life, it is worse than even 2008 and 2010 summer uprisings when we witnessed curfews for months together.”
Umar Nazir of Rambagh, who had gone to purchase food grains from the market said the State government was lying by saying that its Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department was on the job.
“Nowhere would you find ration being given to the people at any CA&PD outlet,” he said.