JAMMU, Nov 24: Governor N.N. Vohra, Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, has addressed all the Chief Ministers and the Administrators of all States and the Union Territories and requested their support in ensuring that Compulsory Health Certificates (CHCs) are issued after adequate examination of the applicant-pilgrim’s medical status.
The Governor has urged the CMs to issue specific directions to their Health Departments to ensure that the doctors nominated to issue CHCs to the intending Yatris for Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2017 strictly follow the Guidelines issued by the Shrine Board. He observed that keeping in view the Challenging high latitude terrain of the Yatra area, it is necessary that only such persons embark on the pilgrimage who are fully fit and no applicant who is suffering from any medical ailment is issued the required CHC.
The Governor noted that during every Yatra a significant number of pilgrims lose their lives due to heart, lung and other medical failures. The Post-Yatra Review, undertaken by the Shrine Board after every yatra, reveals that many lives could have been saved if the Doctors/ Medical Institutes, nominated by the State/UT Governments had issued the required Health Certificate only to the eligible persons and denied the same to those who have suffered or are presently afflicted by heart, lung or other serious ailments.
During Yatra 2016, it had come to the Shrine Board’s notice that persons having serious medical complications and children aged less than 13 years were issued CHCs by the nominated doctors, which enabled such persons to secure Yatra Permits from the designated Bank Branches.
The Governor has drawn attention to the Supreme Court‘s Judgment of December 2012 which has directed the State Governments to annually notify a list of Doctors / Medical Institutions who shall be authorized to issue Health Certificates (called Compulsory Health Certificates– CHCs) on the prescribed format, free of cost, to every intending Yatri who shall, thereafter, submit the CHC to the Registration Centre (one of the designated Bank Branches in every State) to obtain advance registration for undertaking the pilgrimage on a specific date by a specified route.
It is pertinent to mention that the Shrine Board has provided Guidelines for the authorized Doctors / Institutions in the States which advise, inetralia : (i) that no person below the age of 13 years or above the age of 75 years or a woman with 6 weeks pregnancy should be issued a CHC; (ii) the examining doctor should write his/her ‘MCI Registration Number’ and “name” and put their stamp at the appropriate places indicated in the CHC and not leave any blank while issuing the Certificate. Further, the authorized doctors/ Institutions are required to ensure that any applicant who has undergone bypass surgery or has implanted stents is not issued a Certificate.
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