Doctors deliver tireless emergency services during heavy shelling in Poonch, Rajouri
Poonch/Rajouri: Medical doctors and personnel working in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir delivered emergency treatment during the May 7 shelling of artillery shells.
The conditions were "war-like," with shells landing close to the Government Medical College and Associated Hospital in Rajouri, Principal Amarjeet Singh Bhatia reported.“The sound of explosions was constant, even near the hospital premises. As soon as the shelling began, we declared an emergency and called all staff in,” he said.
For four straight days, the hospital functioned as a fully mobilized emergency unit. Medical personnel did not leave their posts, nor did they follow shift schedules. Instead, they worked round-the-clock, even converting the hospital basement into temporary accommodation for staff and patients. “Our team stayed inside the hospital for the entire duration. Everyone, from senior surgeons to support staff, was fully committed,” Dr. Bhatia said.
During this period, the hospital received 30 patients with injuries from the shelling. While three, including a senior official, were declared dead on arrival, the remaining 27 received immediate treatment. “Three patients were in critical condition, but our doctors performed multiple surgeries, and they are now stable,” he added.
In Poonch district, the District Hospital became a lifeline as wounded civilians began arriving from the early hours of May 7. “We had patients pouring in from 4 a.m. The emergency wing was packed, and resources were stretched, but every single patient was attended to,” said Dr. Rubina, Medical Officer at the hospital.
Dr. Rubina and her husband, the hospital’s Medical Superintendent, coordinated the emergency response for uninterrupted medical services. “Despite the pressure and limited supplies, no one was left untreated. All doctors, paramedics, and support staff gave their all to serve the injured,” she said.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
