The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) here on Sunday has taken up the matter with the office of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister over the lack of emergency transportation services in remote areas like Machil and Gurez.
This comes in the wake of the tragic demise of Gowhar Ahmad Mir, a 25-year-old pharmacy graduate from Kupwara, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in Chandigarh while traveling to receive his degree.
Despite his family’s desperate request for a helicopter to repatriate his mortal remains, their plea was denied, forcing them to undertake a grueling 30-kilometer journey on foot, carrying his body on a stretcher through heavy snowfall—a distressing reminder of the glaring infrastructural failures in J&K’s remote regions.
National Convenor Nasir Khuehami took up the issue with the Chief Minister’s Office and spoke to CM’s Advisor, Nasir Aslam Wani, after the family’s appeal for emergency transport was ignored. The agonizing ordeal endured by the bereaved family has once again exposed the severe inadequacies in crisis response mechanisms, particularly in inaccessible regions where the absence of emergency evacuation services continues to put lives at risk.
Following the intervention of the JKSA, the CM’s Office has assured that corrective measures will be taken to address these shortcomings, especially in far-flung areas like Machil. Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani has promised a full inquiry into the matter and has assured that the government will work towards establishing a robust emergency response system to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Association National President Ummar Jamal expressed deep sorrow over the untimely demise of Gowhar Ahmad Mir, calling it a profound tragedy that highlights the failures of the administration in providing basic emergency services. Offering heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, he stressed that no family should have to endure such suffering due to bureaucratic apathy and infrastructural neglect.
He urged the government to prioritize the development of emergency transportation networks, particularly in the remote and vulnerable regions of Jammu and Kashmir, to ensure that no more lives are lost due to administrative inefficiency.
