Srinagar: A spike in suffocation deaths due to the use of heating gadgets has triggered widespread concerns in Kashmir, prompting Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) leader and independent legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami to demand free carbon monoxide sensors for households.
Five members of a family, including three minor children and parents, died due to suspected asphyxiation in their rented room in Srinagar on Sunday. This tragic incident has sent shockwaves across the Valley.
The incidents of asphyxiation were reported in Kulgam, where a son, Nisar Ahmad Khan, died due to suffocation, and his mother remains admitted in a hospital. Last month, two labourers from Kupwara—Parvaiz Ahmad Khan and Mohd Yousuf Khan—died of suffocation in Srinagar's Qamarwari area.
On December 31, three persons were found dead under suspicious circumstances in a guest house in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Thursday morning. Officials noted a charcoal heater in the room, suggesting asphyxiation as the likely cause.
“The government should formulate a policy to distribute carbon monoxide sensors at subsidised rates through local bodies,” Tarigami said.
The sensors will alert the users about the increasing levels of carbon monoxide, and the inhabitants of a room will wake up to the alerts.
“While the victims cannot be brought back, the families should be given compensation as a humanitarian gesture, and those in critical condition due to suffocation should be provided immediate and free-of-cost treatment,” he said.
Health experts suggest that the asphyxiation occurs due to excessive use of heaters, as they increase carbon monoxide in a closed room, which depletes oxygen levels. The health department has also issued advisories about using heaters and how to prevent asphyxiation.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while expressing grief over the Srinagar incident, urged people to exercise utmost caution while using heating gadgets during the harsh winter months. He emphasised the importance of adhering to government-issued advisories on the safe use of heating equipment to prevent such tragic incidents.
The Valley is reeling under cold as subzero temperatures compel people to use heaters to remain warm. The 40-day Chila-i-Kalan is ongoing, and people are using heating excessively to protect themselves from the cold.
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