Daily Times

In another act of repression against the Kashmiri people, India has not only stopped supply of Covid-19 vaccine to the occupied valley but is also diverting the allocated stocks to other Indian cities.

According to a top health official of IIOJK’s anti-coronavirus operations, vaccine supplies from outside of Kashmir have been stopped since last Thursday, resulting into halt of vaccination in the occupied valley, which is currently under lockdown. The designated vaccination centers in different cities of the valley are currently wearing a deserted look due to non-availability of vaccines, forcing the people visiting these centres to return unvaccinated.

Amidst this horrible mayhem and lockdown, Kashmir’s premier health institute, the Soura Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) in Srinagar, too is without the vaccine. Media reports say hundreds of people daily visit the hospital amidst the lockdown to get a jab of the vaccine but are sent back as the stocks have finished and fresh supplies have been blocked by the Indian government for last several days. A senior doctor in the Directorate of Family Welfare MCH & Immunization said fresh stocks have not come despite the matter having been taken up with the Indian government.

Same is the situation in Kupwara where people have expressed strong resentment against the non-availability of vaccines. “I have been visiting the vaccination center at Sub District Hospital Kupwara for the past four days but every time we are sent back unvaccinated,” said a youth who reached there with his old father to get him vaccinated.

A senior official at Block Medical Office Handwara said that for the last five days, vaccines have gone out of stock and the designated Covid-19 vaccination centers including DH Handwara, PHC Natnusa, PHC Chogal, PHC Magam and PHC Batpora could not carry on with vaccination.

The criminal attitude of the Indian government of blocking vaccine supplies comes at a time when the valley has witnessed the highest spike in Covid deaths and positive cases ever since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

As many as 47 people died of Covid-19 while 3,832 persons were recorded infected with the coronavirus only on Monday. Thirty deaths were reported in Jammu and 17 in Kashmir, including 18 in Jammu district and 10 in Srinagar district. Of the rest, three deaths were reported in Poonch, two each in Baramulla, Udhampur, Kathua, Samba, one each in Budgam, Kupwara, Islamabad, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Doda, Reasi and Ramban. The official Covid bulletin said that the new cases included 2601 from Kashmir and 1231 from Jammu region.

In a statement, the National Conference (NC) has expressed concern over the unavailability of vaccines across government-designated vaccine centers in Kashmir and asked the administration to ramp up the capacity to keep up with the spread of the infection. “Of late people had started to turn over for vaccination but the chaos following the unavailability of vaccines at vaccination centers is discouraging,” NC Additional General Secretary Mustafa Kamal said as he voiced concern over the shortage of vaccine at all vaccination centers across Kashmir.

In another despicable move, India is shifting Kashmiri prisoners to the jail of Haryana, the hub of Covid-19 pandemic in India. The lives of Kashmiri prisoners are being put on danger by sending them to jails of Indian states where the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc during the last two weeks. Such a systematic oppressive policy of New Delhi is aimed at stabbing, crushing and silencing the popular ongoing movement for right to self-determination. It is quite shameful that instead of releasing Kashmiri prisoners, India has shifted dozens of them to the hub of infection. It is time for the world community to pressurize India for the release of Kashmiri prisoners on humanitarian grounds as the ongoing second wave of pandemic has crippled the whole healthcare infrastructure in India, resulting in rapid increase in infections and mortality rate.

In another related development, the continuous influx of Indian citizens and labourers into Kashmir is a cause of worry and being dubbed as a planned conspiracy to spread the virus in the occupied territory. According to media reports, Indian authorities are deliberately bringing people affected by the coronavirus epidemic into the Kashmir Valley, which shows Indian hatred, enmity and hostility towards the Kashmiri people.