The distressing incident in Kupwara’s remote Machil area, where a woman delivered her baby on the roadside due to delayed snow clearance, underscores the persistent neglect of marginalised regions. Despite assurances of robust emergency mechanisms, the event reveals glaring inadequacies in infrastructure, healthcare access, and administrative accountability. At the centre of this tragedy lies the failure of timely snow clearance. The inability to anticipate and preempt adverse conditions in such weather-prone areas reflects a lack of preparedness. When lives depend on swift action, particularly in emergencies like childbirth, delays become not just administrative lapses but ethical failures. The affected family and community were left to fend for themselves, a situation that could have easily turned fatal.
Once again, the current condition of health services stands exposed. While Kupwara boasts a Primary Health Centre, it is ill-equipped to handle emergencies due to the absence of qualified medical personnel. This systemic failure points to a deeper issue: the neglect of rural healthcare infrastructure. The reliance on temporary measures, such as advising expectant mothers to relocate to better-equipped facilities, places an undue burden on families who may not have the resources or understanding to comply fully. That said, the narrative is not without layers of accountability. Health officials claim the woman had been facilitated to relocate but left against advice, complicating an already fragile situation. The inquiry ordered by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir is a welcome step, but it must lead to actionable outcomes. Accountability cannot stop at individual lapses; systemic reforms are imperative. Snow clearance operations in high-altitude regions must be preemptive, with machinery pre-deployed in vulnerable zones. The broader issue is the neglect of remote communities that have become accustomed to being “left at God’s mercy.” The incident in Machil must serve as a wake-up call for the administration to adopt a proactive approach, addressing both infrastructural deficiencies and emergency response frameworks. Until such issues are addressed, stories like Shaheena Begum’s will continue to remind us of the human cost of negligence.
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