After the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, pictures of the deteriorating conditions of the country keep coming to the fore. Recently, Afghan news agencies reported that people in the country’s Herat province have been sickened by exposure to toxic carbon monoxide. In such a situation, more than 140 Afghan citizens including women and children have been admitted to the hospital. According to the residents of Herat, they are using gas as the only option to heat their homes.
“Within the last 24 hours, 130 to 140 patients have been brought to the emergency ward of the hospital,” the head of the hospital, Ahmad Farhad Afzali, was quoted as saying by news agency TOLO news.
It is being told that due to the use of coal by some families to keep their homes warm during the winter season, poisonous gas like carbon monoxide was produced in them. So many people have been admitted to the hospital because of breathing in the presence of this gas.
‘We are forced…’ Afghan citizen
Abdul Qadir, a resident of Herat, said, “It was cold and my family turned on the gas. If I had been five minutes late, I would have lost 21 members of my family.” Qadir said that his family members have now been admitted to the regional hospital in western Afghanistan. In the country, many Afghans have already been affected by the sudden drop in temperature and are now breathing toxic gas. Afghan news agency reported that more than 16 people died in 4 provinces due to drop in temperature and cold.
Another resident of Herat, Shakeela, shared her grief, as reported by the Afghan News Agency.
“We don’t have power and are forced to use gas. So far, two members of my family have died of carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Doctors in Afghanistan have warned that negligence can be fatal for families as they deal with cases of poisonous gas. “The negligence of families causes carbon monoxide poisoning and this leads to catastrophic incidents,” said Mohammad Daoud Hashimi, a doctor at a hospital. Talking about the health status of these victims, Abdul Sami Sadat said, “We have discharged some of them from the hospital, who had recovered and were in good condition.”
Since the Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan, the country is going through a severe economic as well as humanitarian crisis. The social status of the country is declining while poverty, malnutrition and unemployment are at its peak. In addition, the Taliban have been strategically removing Afghan women from all public or social forums.
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Credit: bharat.republicworld.com /