J&K: Army veterans volunteer in fight against COVID-19; raise awareness in Udhampur

Amid the unprecedented second coronavirus wave in the country, a group of ex-servicemen of the Indian Army has volunteered to spread awareness among the people about COVID-19 in Udhampur of Jammu and Kashmir. A group of former army men was seen checking the oxygen level and pulse rate of people with symptoms of COVID and advised them to visit the nearby health facility and get tested.

A retired serviceman of the Army, Naib Subedar Sohan Singh was quoted by ANI saying, "We have made a group of ex-Servicemen of the Army. We plan on going door-to-door in various areas of Udhampur and make people aware of the ongoing pandemic. We are informing them about what they can do, in case they experience Covid-19 symptoms."

Another former serviceman, Dr. Pankaj Dogra said, "We are taking the help of ex-servicemen in identifying people with symptoms and spreading awareness among them. It is the need of the hour. We are prioritizing on saving as many lives as possible."

Subedar Major Fardool Singh told ANI, "Several of us, ex-servicemen are going door to door in various areas and are making people aware of the disease. We are also informing people what to do in case they develop symptoms."

COVID In Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir on Monday recorded 2,237 fresh Covid cases, which took the tally to 2,72,858, while 45 deaths in the past 24 hours pushed the toll to 3,609 in the union territory, officials said. Out of the fresh cases, 854 were from the Jammu division and 1,383 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, they said.

The officials said Jammu district recorded the highest 441 cases, followed by 309 in Srinagar district and 221 in Budgam district. The number of active cases has dropped to 45,630 in the union territory, while 2,23,619 patients have recovered so far, they said. The death toll in the union territory due to the pandemic rose to 3,609 as 45 patients died in the past 24 hours. 

(With ANI Inputs)