Noor Ul Hasan Andrabi
Kupwara: The unfortunate death of a baby at Lal Ded hospital few days back has plunged the ever joyous and blissful husband and wife in complete abyss as the duo is yet to come to terms with what transpired on the fateful day.
Narrating the awful incident, a family member of the victim said that the newly born baby died minutes after Mohammad Amin (father of the child) was told by the doctors to take the baby, who was in a critical condition, to the child specialty ward. “As it happened, once the father reached the door, the so-called security guards there demanded him (father) to pay a ‘treat’ of one thousand rupees. Running low on cash, the father offered them 800 rupees, but the guards kept insisting and denied him pass”, the family member said. After continuous denial by the guards for a considerable period, the baby subsequently succumbed in the lap of his father”, he said.
With three years of patience and prayers, his wife had conceived but it came crashing down within minutes into the delivery, with the broken father saying it all happened for he failed to pay a ‘treat’ of mere two hundred rupees.
This family belongs to Cheepora Lolab Kupwara.
The woman, after receiving her initial care at native district, was referred to Srinagar.
Mohammad Ameen says that there was a normal delivery but I was told to take the baby to the Children’s ward for proper treatment. However, once I reached the door, some security guards stopped me and demanded a thousand rupees as ‘treat’. I was in a very critical situation and gave them eight hundred rupees but they didn’t let me cross over and unrelentingly kept asking for two hundred more, which I wasn’t having with me somehow. I kept persuading them however they didn’t budge and the baby ultimately died in my arms.
“It all happened because I failed to pay mere two hundred rupees”, he said and broke down.
“We are treated inhumanely for our sole fault is that we belong to Kupwara. Had our administration been a bit more caring and facilitated the people with more facilities, we wouldn’t have to traverse upto Srinagar and end up being treated like this”, he says.
“My wife is asking me for the baby, what will I answer to her now, where will I get the baby now?”, Ameen laments.
In the meantime, ADC Srinagar on Tuesday visited the Lal Ded Hospital to take first hand appraisal into the incident.(IK)
