Over 200 ambulances damaged, drivers injured

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 2

In the line of duty, ambulance drivers have dealt with a double-edged sword in the retreating Kashmir unrest while ferrying patients as over 200 ambulances have been damaged by stone throwers and security forces so far.

It has been a nightmarish experience for 45-year-old Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, an ambulance driver, at Newa village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Sheikh had to spend 20 days in the hospital after the security forces thrashed him on July 10, two days after Burhan Wani’s killing for ferrying injured patients, including a critically wounded boy of Newa village. “I had fractured my shoulder and cheek bone. Also, my head wound was stitched at three places after the CRPF men thrashed me for ferrying the injured patients,” Sheikh told The Tribune.

Five months later, Sheikh is again under attack, but this time by stone-pelters. He has been hit twice by stone-pelters in August and November on his way back home from Srinagar’s Lal Ded Hospital, where he dropped two pregnant ladies.

At least 13 ambulances in Pulwama were damaged by stone-throwers and security forces in the nearly five-month long unrest.

Like Sheikh, over 20 ambulance drivers working with the Health Services, Kashmir, were injured during the unrest.

With pellets in his right arm and blood oozing out, 32-year-old ambulance driver Ghulam Muhammad Sofi drove for nearly 1 km so that he and his patients reached the hospital safely.

Sofi was ferrying two patients from the Public Health Centre, Wusan in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, to a Srinagar hospital on August 18 when a paramilitary CRPF personnel shot at him with pellets at Safa-Kadal locality of Srinagar.

Sofi received over 300 pellets in humerus – long bone in upper arm – after the CRPF officer went near the driver’s window and fired the pellet cartridge at him.

“Fortunately, I covered my eyes with my left arm and a few pellets hit my arm instead of eyes,” he added. After being hit, Sofi rushed from the spot to reach to the hospital safely. Now after five months, Sofi is facing the wrath of stone-pelters at various places from Ganderbal to Srinagar via old city.

Both Sheikh and Sofi are working on paltry wages of Rs 2,000 per month with the department on a contractual basis.