C-section in Kashmir crosses Dangerous Thresholds

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Rameez Makhdoomi

 

Caesarean section rates in the maternity hospitals of Kashmir have witnessed an abnormal rise over the considerable period of time. The harmful effects of caesarean section rates on maternal and newborn have been found by research .  According to research ,Caesarean sections can cause significant complications, disability or death, particularly in settings that lack the facilities to conduct safe surgeries or treat potential complications.

Statistics with reference to deliveries at Kashmir’s largest Maternity Institute, Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar clearly point out an increase in the rate of caesareans. In a decade, the percentage share of Caesarean Sections in deliveries has risen from 45 to 60 percentile.

At G B pant hospital  in the year 2014-15 more than 70  percent women have undergone Caesarean Section .Even in private hospitals of Kashmir 75 to 80 percent deliveries take place by caesarean section only. This high percentage of Caesarean section across the valley based hospitals according to medical experts is a worrying facet.

Sameena Malik, Who recently gave birth to a baby via caesarean section states- “ The fact of the matter is that both patients and doctors are equally responsible for rising caesarean sections in Kashmir. On their part ,Patients have lost the patience to bear pain and at instances the doctors also encourage caesareans.”

 

As a matter of fact,  higher rate of maternal morbidity is associated with Caesarean Sections compared to natural births. WHO notes a maternal mortality rate of 20 per 100,000 births with Caesarean Sections, while the figure stands at just 2.5 per 100,000 births for normal deliveries in US. Pertinently, there is a risk associated with anesthesia. Not to mention the immediate and delayed complications of surgeries.

Dr. Sameena Sultan, an eminent  gynecologist is of opinion that multiple reasons are behind rising caesarean sections in Kashmir. “ The reasons behind the upward trend in caesarean section in Kashmir are multiple- Rising age of marriage .Small family norm ,non availability of labour anesthesia and continuous fetal monitoring . Also to add to it the  fear of labor pains rising litigations against health care professionals are main reasons behind rising caesarean sections in Kashmir .”

 

 

 

Recently health minister of Jammu and Kashmir Choudhary Lal Singh  directed the CMOs to take measures for encouraging institutional deliveries. He expressed concern about rising number of caesarean sections being done in various health institutions. He stressed on normal deliveries and suggested rate of caesarean sections should not be more than the permissible 20 percent of all the deliveries in the hospitals.

Undoubtedly, the pulse is that all out efforts should be taken to minimize the rising caesarean sections in Kashmir Valley .

News Kashmir Expresses Heartfelt condolences with Umat Zahoor

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News  Kashmir Magazine entire team offers condolence to Umat Zahoor on demise of his Father Ghulam Nabi Patoo, a resident of

Khanyar  . Pertinently, he  was currently retired Government Employee, who was known for his honest caliber and humane nature.

News Kashmir Team prayed for the eternal peace of departed soul . Farzana Mumtaz, Editor-in- Chief News Kashmir while expressing obituary stated – “ We express full solidarity with bereaved family of Umat Zahoor in this hour of grief and pray to Allah to grant heavenly abode to the departed soul.”

Heavy battles between Iraqi Army and ISIS at Ramadi

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The battle to drive out Islamic State  of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters out of the centre of Ramadi is entering its second day as Iraqi special forces fight the militants street by street.

Officials are optimistic that the city will be recaptured by the weekend.

But a spokesman for the US-led coalition has been more cautious, saying a tough fight is in prospect.

Iraqi forces are heading towards the main government complex, and have come up against snipers and suicide bombers.

Ramadi fell to IS in May in an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army.

Security sources told the BBC troops and allied tribesmen, backed by US-led air strikes, had already retaken two districts, and entered two others.

Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service spokesman Sabah al-Numani said its troops, supported by soldiers, police and Sunni tribesmen, began the assault on central Ramadi at dawn on Tuesday.

Barkha’s Unquiet Land Generates Interest in Kashmir

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Rameez Makhdoomi
Barkha Dutt debut Book The Unquiet Land has generated lot of interest among the readers of Kashmir on account of Barkha being throughout her prolific career as a Journalist closely associated with Kashmir via her ground reports on diverse realms of conflict ridden Kashmir.
Pertinently, the book Unquiet Land tells the truth about the India’s secrets and lies, its torments and triumphs, and its heroes and villains. This is the first book by Barkha Dutt, India’s best known journalist. In this book, Barkha Dutt recounts the stories that have left an indelible mark on her. Taken together, they provide a vivid, devastating and unforgettable portrait of the unquiet land .
Some of these stories go back centuries, others are of comparatively recent origin.

While talking to News Kashmir, Sheikh Sameer, a vivid reader Stated – ” The book penned down by Barkha Dutt is awesome and offers lot of interesting stories and is worth a great read. I made it sure to buy the book as soon as it was available here in Srinagar. Barkha Dutt has done Wonderful job by writing a really inspiring book especially bringing to light the stories that deserve attention.”
From the ground feedback, the youngsters are taking much interest in knowing what has been written in her first book by renowned journalist Barkha Dutt and reviews from Kashmir on this book will soon be penned down.

Seven Pakistan armymen killed in South Waziristan border attack: ISPR

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ISLAMABAD: At least seven Frontier Corps personnel were killed as a checkpost northeast of South Waziristan’s Angoor Adda came under fire Tuesday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

“The terrorists opened heavy fire from across the Pak-Afghan border early on Tuesday,” the ISPR said.

North and South Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, among others.

According to the ISPR, troops have been deployed along the border with neighbouring agencies to block any movement of terrorists in and out of the region.

The Pakistan Army launched military operations Zarb-i-Azb and the National Action Plan targeting insurgents following attacks on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and Peshawar’s Army Public School in 2014.

Officials say nearly 3,000 militants have been killed since the launch of the latest offensive.

The number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70 per cent this year, due to a combination of the military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy.

Many militants have fled to other parts of Pakistan, and some into Afghanistan, complicating the United States-backed Kabul government’s fight against its own Taliban insurgency.

Courtesy: Dawn

Saudi prince held over record Beirut airport drug bust

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A Saudi prince and four other people have been detained in Lebanon in the largest drug seizure in the history of Beirut airport, a security source has said.

Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz was among those detained by airport security while allegedly “attempting to smuggle about two tonnes of Captagon pills and some cocaine,” the security source said.

“The smuggling operation is the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut International Airport,” the source told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.

Captagon is the brand name for the amphetamine phenethylline, a synthetic stimulant.

Manufacturing of the substance thrives in Lebanon and war-torn Syria, which have become a gateway for the drug to the Middle East and particularly the Gulf.

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime said in a 2014 report that the amphetamine market is on the rise in the Middle East, with seizures mostly in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria accounting for more than 55 percent of amphetamines recovered worldwide.

The security source said the drugs had been packed into cases that were waiting to be loaded onto a private plane that was headed to Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon’s state news agency said the private plane was to head to Riyadh and was carrying 40 suitcases full of Captagon.

The five Saudi citizens were still in the airport and will be questioned by Lebanon’s customs authority, the source added.

In April 2014, security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle 15 million capsules of Captagon hidden in shipping containers full of corn from Beirut’s port.

Source: News Agencies

Hundreds dead after powerful earthquake hits South Asia

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A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake has struck in northern Afghanistan and has been felt in a large area from northern India to Pakistan with scores of people killed across the region.

The US Geological Survey put the epicentre of Monday’s quake near Jarm in Afghanistan’s northeast, 250km from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213km

The total death toll stood at 335 with at least 253 people killed in Pakistan and at least 82 more in Afghanistan, according to official reports from the two countries.

Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, cut short his visit to the United Kingdom to fly home to deal with the emergency.

Hikmat Fasi, a resident of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan, said the quake caused a lot of damage in the area.
“We are safe but I saw a lot of buildings collapse,” Hikmat Fasi said. “It [earthquake] caused severe damage to our area. We are just praying.”

According to the Inter-Service public relations office, all military hospitals and helicopters were put on standby and high alert.

Strong tremors were also felt in New Delhi and Islamabad, residents said, as authorities in India and Pakistan issued warnings for strong aftershocks.

Dozens dead in Pakistan

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said walls in the Pakistani capital swayed back and forth as people poured out of office buildings in a panic.

Shaukat Iqbal, a resident from Charsadda district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said it felt as if the earthquake “kept getting worse with time”.

“I could see homes, buildings shaking. We are terrified and I am unable to reach my family living in Malakand district. All phone lines are shut.”

Waqas Habibi Rana, a resident from Lahore, said many people fled their homes and office buildings as the city was hit by the tremors.

“As soon as we felt the first tremor we stepped out of our home. It stopped for a few seconds, but started again,” said Waqas.

“The third tremor was really severe. It was by far the worst earthquake I have ever experienced in Pakistan. Everyone was scared and praying. It has triggered landslide in Baltistan [a mountainous region in Pakistan situated in the Karakoram mountains just to the south of K2], Waqas added.

Al Jazeera’s Nidhi Dutt, reporting from New Delhi, said many residents of the Indian capital had already moved back into their buildings.

“The city’s metro system was still down as part of the security measures,” Dutt reported.

News Source: Aljazeera

Cong facing humiliating defeats since 2014: Khanna

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Claiming that the BJP has created history in Ladakh, BJP National Vice President, MP & J&K Prabhari, Avinash Rai Khanna said that the Congress is facing humiliating defeats right from 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Avinash Rai Khanna, while congratulating the center leadership, state leadership, winning candidates and the party activists over the party’s latest victory in Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections, said that “Victory March” has induced enthusiasm among the party cadre at the grass roots level and the day is not far when Narendra Modi’s mission of “Congress Mukt Bharat” will be accomplished in full.
“BJP had gone to the people of Ladakh during LAHDC elections campaigning with an agenda of development and providing a corruption free administration”, Khanna said and added that the voters displayed their faith in our party and rejected Congress, which always provided lip service but did nothing in practical to understand and mitigate the problems of the cold desert region.
Khanna assured the people of Ladakh that the party will work to ensure that the region in not discriminated anymore and an era of development, progress and prosperity.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minster Dr. Nirmal Singh, while extending congratulations to the elected Councilors and the local leadership of Ladakh for historic victory, said that the credit goes to the dynamic and charismatic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and keen interest shown by State Prabhari Avinash Rai Khanna, who had been visiting Ladakh every now and then to mobilize the public in favour of BJP. He said that the entire team of BJP ministers, MLAs, MLCs and the top leadership of State unit of the BJP had put their best efforts during the election campaigning by visiting every constituency.

97 ASI’s promoted, IGP Kashmir congratulates the promotees

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Srinagar, October 25: Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone Shri S.J.M Gillani, IPS issued promotion order of 97 Assistant Sub-Inspectors to the rank of Sub-inspectors.

The IGP Kashmir Zone has felicitated these promoted Sub-Inspectors, their families and exhorted them to work with more dedication and devotion.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman phones Russia’s Putin over Syria

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have discussed resolving the crisis in Syria during a phone conversation, the Kremlin says.  

According to a statement released by the Kremlin on Monday, during the call, which was initiated by Saudi Arabia, the two leaders exchanged views on “all the questions associated with resolving the Syrian crisis, including four-way talks.”

The statement was referring to recent talks held between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US, Turkish and Saudi counterparts.

In a meeting in the Austrian capital Vienna on Friday, Lavrov met with US Secretary of State John Kerry,Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu to discuss resolving the crisis in Syria. The top diplomats of the four countries reportedly agreed to hold another meeting this week in an expanded format with delegates from other countries.

According to the statement, Putin and Salman also discussed the recent developments in Palestine. “The two parties expressed their concern at the growing deterioration in the situation.”