Even after the Government of India (GoI) launched a free health insurance scheme to mitigate the sufferings of unprivileged people, the border residents of three districts in north Kashmir in absence of an internet facility aren’t able to register themselves to avail the scheme, thus forcing them to travel miles to complete the process.
The border areas of three frontier districts including Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora have over a dozen villages without mobile connectivity with a result the people either are unable to register themselves to avail free health insurance.
Talking to KNO, the border residents from areas like Keran, Tangdhar, Gurez, and Uri stated that the people living in forward areas are unprivileged and remain in dire need of assistance to treat their members who suffer life-threatening diseases and even receive injuries during cross border shelling close to the Line of Control (LoC).
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, last year on December 26 launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme for the people of Jammu and Kashmir via video conferencing and stated that people will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the scheme besides it will improve the ease of living.
People from the Tangdhar sector in the Kupwara district said that the areas like Jabri Bajaldar, Seemari, Jada, Bayari, and Sadhpora are without mobile connectivity with no source of internet for the people.
In Bandipora’s Gurez sector, Waseem Ahmad a student studying in Srinagar said that the entire Tulail Tehsil is without mobile connectivity with over 18,000 souls living there.
He said that some of the areas where mobile towers were installed are non-functional. The areas include Saddv, Buglinder, Malangam, Badowaap, Gujran, and Chakwali.
In Baramulla’s Uri Tehsil, people said that the areas including Nadi, Kamalote Bandi, jabdi, and Kalsi are without mobile connectivity and people have no access to internet connectivity to avail the free health facility.
The residents of trio border districts in north Kashmir echoed similar concerns and said that a huge population isn’t able to register themselves to avail the benefits under the scheme since the internet is the basic requirement to fulfill all the needful documentation including a fingerprint.
They said that people who suffer life-threatening diseases even receive fatal injuries during the cross border shelling remain in dire need of financial assistance when shifted to any health center in Srinagar.
A Common Service Center (CSC) member in north Kashmir told KNO that the internet is the basic requirement and people won’t be able to register themselves since fingerprints are important and one can’t have the benefits unless the beneficiary doesn’t fulfill all the required steps.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P K Pole, told KNO that he will take up the issue and check how many people have so far applied and what’s the situation at these places (border areas).
“The scheme has been launched recently, so it will take quite some time to reach the far-flung areas. Eventually, it’ll reach all the remote areas including Gurez ,” he said.
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Kashmir News Observer (KNO) is a news agency in Jammu and Kashmir.
