Kashmir has 1 ventilator for 71,000 people
Kashmir has 1 ventilator for 71,000 people. A total of 93 for 7 million people.
1 doctor for every 3900 patients.
1 gunman for every 10 Kashmiris.
The exact number of India’s military and paramilitary presence in Kashmir is not known but it is safe to estimate that there is one Indian gunman for every 10 Kashmiris. It is the world’s most densely militarised zone. India claims to spend 10% of all Central grants and funds on Kashmir which is 1% of India’s population. If any of this money were actually spent on Kashmiris, the effect would be evident. If the central grants were actually spent for Kashmiris, each Kashmiri family would get ₹ 40,000 – every single year. But this money is spent on upkeep of the world’s second largest army, their movement, their maintenance and expenses.
While the world is fighting against a deadly disease, Kashmir is at God’s mercy with less than 100 ventilators for a population of 7 million. We have 1 doctor for every 3900 patients. SKIMS has 40 ventilators, SMHS has 18 ventilators, and Chest Diseases Hospital has 16 ventilators, the Children’s Hospital has 10, Lal Ded Hospital and Bone and Joints Hospital have 2 each. South Kashmir’s GMC Hospital at Anantnag has 2 ventilators, while North Kashmir’s GMC Hospital has 3. Kupwara and Bandipora district hospitals have no ventilator. The cost of each ventilator is ₹ 600000 (GBP 600). According to officially declared figures, India spends ₹ 6 crore, per day, on its army in Kashmir (GBP 600,000). A single day’s expenditure is sufficient to buy 100 ventilators. The national allocation for defence during the fiscal year 2020-21 stood at ₹471,378 crore- enough to buy 78,56,300 ventilators.
Further Reading:
- https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/cost-of-peace/203301
- https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-kashmir-hospital-returns-6-ventilators-to-ngo-due-to-lack-of-space-beds-staff/350393
- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/JampK-gets-10-of-Central-funds-with-only-1-of-population/article14506264.ece
- https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20021014-jammu-and-kashmir-most-pampered-state-in-india-794111-2002-10-14
- http://www.risingkashmir.in/news/ill-equipped-kashmir-hospitals-require-100-more-ventilators-358486.html
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