As the afternoon sun shines brightly in the cloudless sky, Rafiqa Lolabi, 40-year old Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), hurriedly passes through the tortuous narrow lanes of the Sogam village in Kupwara. Donning a white disposable apron and a bundle of files in her hand, Rafiqa knocks at the door of every house and asks the inmates few questions about Covid-19 vaccination. She then jots down the important details in one of her files. This has been nearly the everyday practice of this woman for the last 14 years.
“My day starts at 10 am. I visit door to door to conduct different health surveys like keeping a record of pregnant women in our areas, immunization drives, assisting deliveries, etc. Our work also includes management of sick during home visits, creating awareness on health and providing necessary drugs and supplements to people,” Rafiqa said, hurriedly adding: “But this is not all.”
As the pandemic raged on, Rafiqa like thousands of other ASHA workers was deployed on Covid-19 duty. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare assigned them the task of contact tracing, ensuring the infected people isolate, helming the vaccination drive and maintaining the records.
“We have been given the responsibility of providing the data from ground zero during this pandemic,” Rafiqa, who is also the district president of ASHA workers association Kupwara, said. “The expansion in our duties is not only tiring but risky too”.
THE DECISION
Denne historien er fra June 19, 2021-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Denne historien er fra June 19, 2021-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
