E-Paper
How CRPF’s helpline ‘Madadgaar’ assisted Kashmiris during Covid-19 lockdown
Under the scheme, all kinds of assistance are provided to Kashmiris across the country.
When the country was under strict Covid-19 lockdown in April, a five-day-old baby from Srinagar needed an immediate surgery within two weeks for a congenital heart defect. The baby’s parents, Humaira and Tahir, a daily wager, did not have the Rs 500,000 needed for the surgery. As the parents struggled to raise the money, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stepped in and contacted doctors at Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences. The doctors suggested an emergency procedure since the surgery was not immediately possible. The procedure cost Rs 55,000. Tahir managed to pay Rs 30,000 while CRPF offered the rest of the amount. The procedure was successful and the baby is stable now.
Tahir and Humaira are among thousands of Kashmiris, who have benefitted from CRPF’s Madadgaar initiative, as Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted livelihoods over the last five months.
A Madadgaar helpline (14411) is run under special CRPF director general (Kashmir) Zulfiquar Hasan’s command. Under the scheme, all kinds of assistance are provided to Kashmiris across the country. The assistance ranges from issues related to water, electricity and road construction, medical emergencies, and domestic violence, dowry harassment, career, education, sports.
The initiative was launched in June 2017. Since its inception, the helpline has received 573,000 calls from Kashmiris in distress. In 98% of cases, help has extended, according to CRPF data.
The Madadgaar team attended to 53,333 grievances on a special Covid-19 helpline launched on March 26 a day after the nationwide lockdown was imposed to check pandemic spread. Between March 26 and August 1, the helpline received 50,757 calls. As many as 1,616 distress messages were received through WhatsApp, SMS and on Twitter.
CRPF said Madadgaar teams provided over 35,000 food packets to 4,538 Kashmiri and 2,941 migrant labourer families. Over 5,800 calls were received for information on Covid-19 testing and treatment centres. Other calls pertained to information about medical experts and essential services. Another 21,928 calls were received from people seeking information on procedures to return to their homes.
CRPF came to migrant worker Mohammad Arif’s rescue when he began his journey from Mumbai to his home in Panjgrain near the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri district in April on a bicycle as his father, Wazir Hussain, suffered a brain stroke. It ensured Arif reaches his destination and helped his father by having him airlifted to Chandigarh for treatment. Arif reached Chandigarh after crossing five states with CRPF’s help. Hussain is stable now.
Hasan said the helpline has been working in coordination with CRPF units and other departments across the country to help the people in distress. “Over 4,040 patients suffering from chronic ailments have been provided medicines, haemodialysis, surgeries, blood donations... The Madadgaar Tel Me telemedicine scheme is also in operation to provide consultations to the patients...” said Hasan. “Since we have a presence everywhere in Kashmir, we play a pivotal role in rendering assistance to the locals and mitigate the problems of the common man... The scheme has been very successful and has helped in building a closer and friendly interface with the public.”
There was a surge in calls made to Madadgaar helpline after August 5 last year when the Centre divested Jammu & Kashmir of its special status. A large number of calls were received from abroad as well with people wanting to know the well-being of their families and for assistance.
CRPF assistant commandant Junaid, a Kashmiri who heads the Madadgaar unit, said since August 5 last year, they have handled 240,000 calls and provided special assistance in 14,446 cases. “We have received over 300 international calls from countries like the UAE, Oman, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK etc where Kashmiri families wanted to inquire about the well-being of their kin living in Kashmir and about the situation in general. It has been a challenging period but we have worked tirelessly in extending all possible help.”
Ajai Sahni, an internal security expert, said initiatives like Madadgaar may not significantly alter the sentiments of people but they certainly have an impact in building a relationship. “We should not forget that Kashmir is not just Anantnag, Pulwama or Kulgam [where terrorism incidents are mostly reported from]... a larger opinion is not actively hostile if not actively supportive of Indian forces. Maybe none of these is going to have an effect on the hardliners but such programmes definitely help.”
