Siachen hospital gets oxygen plant

Nicknamed "Siachen healer", a hospital that serves soldiers working in the world's highest battlefield got its first oxygen plant on Friday, officials said.

The Siachen hospital which is located at Hunder near Pratappur provides medical cover not only to the soldiers deployed on the glacier but also to the local population and a large number of tourists travelling through the Nubra Valley, a senior Army officer said.

As it is a high-altitude area with extreme weather conditions, ailments such as high altitude pulmonary odema (HAPO), high altitude cerebral odema (HACO), strokes, cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are common among locals.

Administration of supplemental oxygen is the mainstay of treatment in high-altitude illnesses.

"Pune-based NGO 'Soldiers Independent Rehabilitation Foundation' (SIRF) has gifted an oxygen generation plant to the Siachen Hospital," he said, adding that the state-of-the-art plant would augment the medical support equipment in the hospital.

It was inaugurated by Lt Gen Y Joshi, GOC, Fire and Fury Corps in the presence of SIRF president Yogesh Chithade on Friday.