Prominent medico body, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said that communication blockade has increased mental problems in Kashmir.
In a statement issued to KNS, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan said that communication blackout has escalated problems of anxiety and depression among people and they are at a greater risk of becoming violent.
“It has been two weeks now, phone lines are down and internet is blocked. People are frustrated at being caged inside and cut off from what is happening in their own valley,” DAKS said. “They do not know what the situation is in villages and towns across the valley, where their friends and relatives stay.”
There is already an epidemic of mental trauma in Kashmir and this jam on communication has made the situation worse. “People have developed fears about the well being of their kith and kin whom they have not been able to contact,” DAks said, adding “Unable to contact near and dear ones, people are anxious and distressed.”
Students and professionals living outside have not spoken to their families and they worried about their safety.
“Even those stuck in Kashmir cannot get through to their families as phones have gone off,” DAK said.
.According to a survey one out of every two adults in Kashmir was mentally disturbed and the ban has compounded the scenario.
“People used to vent their emotions on social networking sites and the gag has frustrated them and added to their mental agony,” DAKs said. “Communication is a lifeline in modern age and one cannot survive without it. This is a fundamental human right and depriving people of it is violation of civil liberties.”