Jammu and Kashmir: Wanted, Eye surgeons to treat Kashmiri injured

Srinagar:  The Jammu and Kashmir government sought eye surgeons from New Delhi and other cities to treat scores of Kashmiris hit by pellet guns in the deadly unrest across the valley.

An official spokesperson said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti spoke to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda requesting him to send a specialised team of doctors, including retina surgeons.

They will take care of the injured who have suffered ophthalmic trauma in the last five days of violent unrest in the Kashmir Valley."We are expecting these specialised doctors to arrive (soon) and get down to the job immediately," a health department official said.The official said the government was also facilitating shifting outside the state any injured who may need super-specialised treatment.

According to doctors at Srinagar's SMHS Hospital, more than 100 people, including some minors, with pellet bullet wounds in their eyes have been treated.Doctors at the hospital have conducted more than 80 eye surgeries in the last four days. Other hospitals in the valley have also received hundreds of injured hit by pellets.Pellet guns have been used by security forces as a tool to control unruly mobs since 2010 when more than 100 people were killed in firing by security forces following street protests.Human rights groups have criticised the use of pellet because it can leave a victim maimed or blind for life.