There seems to be a major shortcoming in examining the fitness and health of the devotees intended to perform pilgrimage to Sri Amarnath Cave in Himalayas as till date 30 of them have lost their lives with maximum perishing due to medical reasons. The mandatory medical examination prior to commencement of Shri Amarnathji Yatra under normal situation is the deciding factor whether the devotee is physically fit for the pilgrimage or he or she may defer Yatra plans and opt for other ways to have Darshan of Lord Shiva like using internet or other audio-video means as their embarking on the pilgrimage could be life threatening as in the case of several devotees among the aforesaid thirty souls, who left for heavenly abode after developing medical complications while struggling to reach summit the higher mountain peaks coming in the way to the cave shrine. The oxygen level reduces substantially at heights, which is risky for cardiac and other crucial health conditions of the patients.
As per reports, three patients have died on Monday, taking the death toll during this year's pilgrimage in the Kashmir Himalayas to 30. While the health conditions of any individual cannot be forecasted, the large number of devotees who could not withstand the vagaries of hostile weather poses a pertinent question on the benchmarks observed by the Medicos while undertaking medical and clinical examination of those pilgrims who lost their lives. Had the concerned medical practitioners belonging to different parts of the country examined the pilgrims with a stringent professional approach and briefed their patients the clear medical position, those feeble pilgrims could have deferred their annual pilgrimage and many lives would have been saved.
Reportedly, two pilgrims have succumbed due to cardiac seizure and the reason behind the third one is being ascertained. Cardiac arrest triggered by low oxygen concentration at high altitude is one of the most common causes of fatalities among Amarnath pilgrims and security forces posted there. The Administrative measures should do some caution to the frail and feeble devotees from taking this hard journey at the risk of life.
It is true that faith and devotion see no argument to de-motivate someone, but the family members have a huge responsibility to impress upon their kith and kin to appreciate one's physical and medical fitness before embarking upon such an arduous journey.
Next time the administration may go for a medical recheck at various base camps to see that vulnerable pilgrims may be either halted or given the option for Helicopter service or virtual and online darshan. The format of acceptable medical certificates may also get changed incorporating exhaustive and clear medical parameters/indicators for local interpretation at the base camps. Some mechanisms may also get developed and established on Sri Amarnath Shrine Board's portal during the registration process every year, where the medical practitioners certifying the fitness of the prospective devotees have to upload the details on the official portal's link for ensuring authenticity and credibility of the medical certificate.
Or alternatively, If official who check these certificates be given the list and phone numbers of the selected doctors the authenticity of their certificates can be verified by just making a call and by this way the system could be made more reliable and the prevalent lacuna could be rectified thus ensuring safety of the devotees as far as their health status is concerned.
