Ladakh To Establish Oxygen Parlours For Tourists

With the tourist season set to begin in the northernmost Union Territory of the country, the administration is all set to establish the oxygen parlours to deal with high-altitude medical emergencies at various places in Ladakh. Tourists in different parts of the cold desert deal with high-altitude sicknesses every year. According to the director of […]

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Edited By: Sonia Dham
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With the tourist season set to begin in the northernmost Union Territory of the country, the administration is all set to establish the oxygen parlours to deal with high-altitude medical emergencies at various places in Ladakh. Tourists in different parts of the cold desert deal with high-altitude sicknesses every year.

According to the director of health Dr Motup Dorjey said to deal with high-altitude medical emergencies, the Department of health would establish oxygen parlours at various places, that includes Khardung La top, Gya village on the Leh-Manali highway, Tsoltak, Zangla and Abran health and wellness centre in Zanskar. He said, “Oxygen parlours will also be set up at three new tourist routes opened by the Tourism Department, which includes Phobrang at Marstemik La-Tsog Tsa Lu route, Shyok-Galwan route and Panamik-Siachen route.”

Many national and international tourists visit Ladakh in large numbers in the month of May, June and July. According to government officials, several medical emergencies get reported every year. But this year, the state department has geared up, they have also kept Gamov bags, which help in increasing the air pressure for patients suffering from altitude illness. The points that generally register the cases are Khardung La, Tsoltak near Chang La, Spangmik near Pangong Lake and Tangste Medical Centre.

The preparations have already been started by the Ladakh administration for the upcoming tourist season as well as a G20 summit which is scheduled to happen from April 25 to 28. The immediate emergency assistance committee (IEAC) has also been constituted for monitoring and accessing all kind of situations, and prevention of reoccurrences of emergencies in the union territory. The committee will provide expert guidance and guidelines.

According to the information, the police department has also developed a mobile application to help tourists. Ladakh Additional Director General of Police Satish Khandare informed that the application has been developed with an aim of providing a comprehensive platform to tourists to access all the required information about the destinations, maps, and transport system and a 24×7 helpline number is also there for any kind of an emergency.

The Ladakh tourist police is also in continuous touch with travel agents, the hospitality sector, and airlines to assist the tourists at their best.

Along with the previous active routes, the tourism department has come up with three new tourist routes, which include Phobrang at Marstemik La-Tsong Tsa La route, Shyok-Galwan route, and Panamik-Siachen route where oxygen parlours will be started.

The decision for the upgradation of health infrastructure was taken in a meeting in the month of February that was headed by Dr Pawan Kotwal. He was informed about the ‘Gamow Bags’ at various critical locations to treat severe cases of altitude sickness. These pressure bags depending upon the elevation can within minutes decrease the adverse effects of altitude by 1000 m by as much as 3000 m. Dr Kotwal gave directions for deploying adequate Gamow bags at various medical check-up points.

To use them to fill oxygen cylinders and make oxygen available in all public health institutions and health and wellness centres, Dr Kotwal also inspected the state of the installation of boosters in all of the oxygen generation plants placed at various healthcare facilities. Also, he gave instructions to make sure that “Hyperbaric Chambers” at the SNM District Hospital in Leh be installed and operational by the start of the upcoming tourist season in April 2023.

He also asked to provide the mandatory advisory that should be well publicised through information, Education and Communication with both the district administration so that tourists are well aware of the necessary precautions during their visit.