Drones To Deliver Life-Saving Drugs To Chota Char Dham Pilgrims
Context:
According to Health Ministry authorities, drones would be deployed to deliver life-saving drugs to Char Dham pilgrims in the event of an emergency. This includes Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri, all of which are 10,000-foot-high pilgrimage destinations in the Garhwal Himalayas.
Points to Ponder:
- The Chota Char Dham is a major Hindu pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand, India’s Himalayan region.
- The circuit includes four places in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.
- During emergencies, the Indian Health Ministry intends to employ drones to deliver life-saving drugs to pilgrims visiting Char Dham sites in the Garhwal Himalayas.
- Following the understanding of the need to give prompt medical treatment to individuals in need, this decision was made.
- The Kedarnath yatra in 2022 recorded 120 deaths in just 27 days, which is a record number.
- The Government Doon Medical College in Uttarakhand did a study that reveals a probable interaction between post-COVID syndrome and high-altitude mountain sickness as contributing factors to the increase in mortality.
- The government is developing a three-tiered framework to equip pilgrims with health care and emergency management infrastructure.
- Dhan Singh Rawat, the Health Minister of Uttarakhand, has underlined the health issues experienced by pilgrims along the difficult journey, as well as the frequency of deaths due to emergencies such as strokes, particularly among those with co-morbidities.
