The government will soon create a strong health support and emergency management infrastructure for the pilgrims embarking on the ”Char Dham Yatra” from across the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya said on Monday.
This would be a three-layered structure to ensure that the pilgrims were provided the best medical facilities, he said after meeting with Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat who sought the Centre’s support for developing the health and emergency infrastructure for the lakhs of pilgrims who undertake the yatra every year.
He informed Madaviya about the health challenges faced by pilgrims along the strenuous route, and the number of pilgrim deaths in the past few months due to health emergencies such as stroke etc. Many of these casualties were of the pilgrims who suffered from comorbidities, he added.
Mandaviya assured full support from the Centre and stated that “the best possible healthcare and health emergency infrastructure will be provided to the visiting pilgrims”. He informed that a strong network of advanced ambulances and stroke vans was planned to ensure that stroke management and treatment could start on the way to a health facility.
These ambulances would be stationed at different points on the yatra route, he added. PG students from medical colleges from across the country were proposed to be deployed as part of strengthened healthcare infrastructure to act as first responders. “This experience will also act as a skilling and capacity-building exercise for the PG students,” Mandaviya added.
In addition to this, drones would be used to provide emergency medicines in the higher locales of the yatra. Drones have been successfully used for the transportation of Covid vaccines in the Northeastern region recently.