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Background The whole world knows of the terror and violence
that has engulfed Kashmir during the last 18 years. As a result, a
distinct ethno-religious group of Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits, has
become the victim of a human tragedy of terrible magnitude.
Almost the entire community of Pandits has been forced into
exile. A major segment of this population has been
living in refugee camps in and around Jammu in the most miserable and
hostile conditions, which have been described as ‘subhuman’ and
‘not fit even for animals’. They
were housed in tents and later shifted to one-room tenements, living
on petty doles, bereft of the basic amenities of life. The remaining
refuges have been forced to seek their own rented lodgings because of
the non-availability of support from the State Govt. Many of them have
been living a nomadic life, moving from place to place in search of
shelter and livelihood. When a whole community is displaced and thrown
into a totally different environment, and under the conditions that
prevail in a forced exodus, the physical, mental, moral and spiritual
functioning is thrown out of gear. The terrible stresses and strains that dominate the struggle
for survival result in the health trauma of a magnitude and severity
not witnessed before in the population. This not only precipitates the
diseases known to exist but also leads to the emergence of new disease
entities that were formerly relatively unknown to the population. In
fact, health trauma has become a major challenge to the survival of
the exiled Pandits. The trauma of forced exodus and the exposure to
an alien and hostile environment are further compounded by the
problems of acclimatization, lack of basic amenities like drinking
water, drainage, and sewerage, overcrowding, extremes of climate, lack
of healthcare, joblessness, idleness, depression, disease and death. The medical facilities are non-existent and the cost of
investigations and treatment prohibitive. The results are devastating
in terms of morbidity and mortality. A whole community has aged
prematurely. Multiple disease syndromes have overtaken most of them.
Many diseases have struck in epidemic proportions – hepatitis,
stress diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, mental and
psychological disorders, malnutrition to name a few. Many have died
prematurely, others are languishing and in throes of death, waiting
for deliverance. Four population surveys on the refugees,
covering different periods in time over the last 17 years, reveal the
frightening scenario of a vanishing population with death rates far
exceeding the birth rates in the community. The State government has failed to come to
rescue and done nothing except for posting a few doctors in the camps
sans medicines and investigations. The health of the refugees does not
figure in the calculations of the Central government. Displaced
Doctor’s Association Soon after
landing in Jammu as an exile himself, Dr K L Chowdhury started the
‘Displaced Doctor’s Association’ in 1991 and hired a few rooms
to deliver free medical aid to the refugees. Twenty-four doctors
enlisted for charitable work. The service continued for 8 years. Over
the years many of these pioneering doctors themselves moved out of
Jammu in search of jobs. Over this period the
need for a larger facility was felt greatly.
Touched by the appalling conditions and the rapidly
deteriorating health scenario, a group of displaced social activists
got together under the inspiring leadership of Dr K L Chowdhury in
order to meet the most urgent demands of the suffering community. A
small building was erected on a piece of land in the outskirts
of Jammu at Durganagar donated
by Sh. Trilokinath Saraf, a well-known social activist and
philanthropist. The polyclinic was commissioned on 25th March 2001 and
named ‘Shriya Bhat
Mission Hospital and Research Center’. Shriya
Bhat Mission Hospital and Research Center Since then the hospital is working as a
multi-disciplinary clinic. Over the years some amenities have been
added like an air conditioner, refrigerator, ECG machines, glucometers,
nebulizers, traction apparatus etc. A medical van has been kept at the
disposal of the sick patients. The Center is open to every body
irrespective of cast or creed, region or religion. There
is a work force of consultants in internal medicine, neurology,
general surgery, urology, orthopedics and dermatology in regular
attendance. Patients are
registered for examination and treatment round the week. The mission
hospital has so far rendered its services to
more than 35 thousand patients.
All the patients receive a free 3-4 week supply of available
medicines. A mini laboratory helps with some basic investigations,
again conducted free on the patients. Medical
camps: Medical
camps are organized from time to time both within the premises as well
as in the refugee camps covering the most prevalent diseases like diabetes,
hypertension, asthma, heart disease, osteoarthritis, urological and
endocrine disorders, dermatological conditions, and nutritional
syndromes, etc. So far more than 45 camps have been held, drawing
patients from the refugee camps and non-camp habitations. Vaccination
drive against Hepatitis-B: We
have undertaken and completed the vaccination drive in two refugee
camps, covering 1800 camp inmates. It is hoped to cover the whole
displaced population over the coming months and years under this
program. Community Health Projects:
We have initiated a community Health project under which the
camp children will be regularly checked up by our doctors.
After a survey in one of the camps revealed a shocking nutritional
status of the children with 80% suffering from anemia we launched a
Mid-day meal program for them on 5th, May 2007 at
camp Bhattal Bhallian near Udhampur which covers 180 school children. Training and
Research: Medical
research is one of the foremost aims of the Center.
We have done numerous
population/health/disease detection surveys on the refugees,
covering different periods in time over the last several years. All
work in the hospital and camps is properly documented. This has helped
the doctors in their research work in the causation of disease in
displaced people. New disease entities, not heard before, have been
documented and described over the years. Two medicos, a medical intern
Dr. Neil Aggarwal and a medical student Ms Priya Dhar from USA
conducted their summer camps in Jammu in the refugee camps under the
guidance of SBMHRC. Many other research students have taken guidance
from Dr K L Chowdhury in pursuing their M. Phil and doctoral thesis in
various non-medical disciplines. Medical
conferences: Dr. K L Chowdhury has written a dozen research papers on the
various medical syndromes afflicting the displaced population. He
presented his data in national and international conferences including
his monumental paper
‘The
Health Trauma of a displaced population’ in an international Medical
conference in Australia. Awards:
1) Dr. K L Chowdhury was awarded
the Rajive Ghandi Shiromani award in September 2007 for his
outstanding service in various fields including health, community
work, literature etc. The award was received by Shri Virji Bhat on his
behalf. 2) Pt. R N Koul
Memorial Trust Jammu gave away The Smiriti Samman of 2006 to Shirya
Bhatt Mission Hospital Jammu for its missionary work in the field of
Health and Disease for the poor and needy exiled population. The award
carries cash award of Rs one lakh, a certificate and a memento. 3) Dr. S L Kachroo,
an eminent surgeon and Pt Moti Kaul, one of the trustees of SBMH, have
been awarded the Indira Ghandi Sadbhawana award in November 2007 for
their distinguished services to the poor and needy through their
association with SBMHRC 4) Indian economic
Development and Research Association has announced ‘The National
Achievement award for Health excellence’ to the SBMHRC and its
Chairman, Dr. K L Chowdhury, to be awarded in 2008. The award includes
a gold medal and certificate of merit. Visiting doctors from abroad: Under
this program we rope in Kashmiri doctors living overseas who, while on
their personal visit to India, spend time in our facility to lend
their expertise to our patients. Two specialists from USA, namely Dr.
Hira Lal Koul, gastroenterologist and Dr. Shiban Warikoo, urologist,
held camps in their respective specialties in the preemies of SBMHRC.
We hope this exchange will gain momentum as more and more
professionals come to learn of this program and some of our doctors
are invited overseas to exchange their experiences in dealing with the
health of a refugee population. The Teams:
The
following teams man the institution.
1) Medical specialists Dr.
K L Chowdhury – Director, Physician and Neurologist; Dr S.L Kachroo
– General Surgeon Dr.
Suresh Saraf – Urologist; Dr. V K Kachroo – Physician Dr.
R K Khosa – Dermatologist and venerologist; Dr. Sanjay Sarup –
Orthopaedician Dr.
Chand Tikoo – Pathologist; VK Koul
-Orthopaedician Besides, visiting doctors from Delhi and
overseas come to lend their expertise from time to time.
2) Paramedical Staff Kiran
Ganjoo –Staff Nurse,
Jawahar Lal Raina – Pharmacist,
Chandji Kak – Pharmacist. Tej
Krishen - Lab technician 3) Administrative Staff RK Pandita – Manager, Virji Bhat – Finance,
Romesh Raina – Projects, O.N. Bhat – Supervision Accounts: The
accounts of the hospital are maintained by Sh.O.N. Bhat treasurer who
is a dedicated social activist and a well trained accountant. The annual accounts
are audited by a
chartered accountant and the income tax returns are filed every year. The accounts are
being audited monthly by the professional auditor. The receipts and
thanks letters are issued to all the donors under the signatures of
the Gen. Secretary (hon.) of the trust Sh.Vir Ji Bhat. The accounts are made
available to all the donors on demand. Income
tax Exemptions under sections 12 AA and 80- G have already been
secured. The
Vision The present structure is at best a suburban
polyclinic, essentially catering to the dire needs of the poor
patients in a few disciplines of medicine. It is not easily accessible
to a large section of the displaced population, nor does it have
admitting and surgical facilities. Yet the growing number of patients,
both from the indigenous as well as the displaced population, mandates
the urgent need for expansion. In
fact the Mission hospital is an ambitious project and a part of the
larger vision of establishing a modern multi-specialty hospital, which
will form the nucleus for a medical institution.
This will entail relocation to larger premises that will reach
out to a sizeable population. To this end we propose to acquire a large piece
of land, about 10-15 canals (5-7000 sq meters), that can be developed
in a phased manner over the next few years. The first stage will be the construction of a
20-bed hospital, which will have scope for further expansion to a
200-bed hospital and research Center. The hospital will be equipped
with modern gadgets for investigation and treatment - a computerized
laboratory, X-ray machines, ultrasound, monitors, operation theatres
with state of art gadgets, central sterilization, and a computerized
filing and record section and a library to help research activities.
More facilities will be added with the phased development of the
institution. The Medical Center will pursue with vigor the
health awareness and educative programs that have already been
initiated in the community. Disease detection camps and surveys will
be organized on a larger scale. The Medical Center will also host seminars and
conferences on the burning medical issues. In due course of time a
medical bulletin will be published which graduate to a regular
journal. This is with the idea of accelerating research into the
multifarious dimensions of health trauma in an exiled population on
which a substantial material has already accumulated over the years.
Excellence being the motto, the idea is to build a model
institution, a legacy to be left behind for the people of Jammu when
the exiled population returns to its homeland with honor and dignity.
This vision can be realized only with the whole-hearted support and
participation of the people. Ours is a community that has survived and
sustained and we sure will prevail. Our motto: “Joy in service” Vir
Ji Bhat Gen.Secretary, SBMH&RC
Trust. Official Website: www.sbmh.org PICTURES REPORTS |
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