Char Dham Yatra medical duty under district residency programme for PG students: NMC

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission on Friday said postgraduate medical students across India can volunteer to provide medical services during the upcoming Char Dham Yatra by becoming a part of the district residency programme in Uttarakhand.

NMC officials said it would be a voluntary decision by the students and they would serve for a maximum period of 15 days in high-altitude areas between May and October when lakhs of pilgrims flock to the hill state.

“It will be a voluntary service and will provide an opportunity to the students to learn about high-altitude medical issues. They will serve for a maximum period of 15 days beyond which it would be difficult to serve in such conditions,” B N Gangadhar, chairman, National Medical Commission told DH.

In a circular, the apex regulatory body says that it considers such an opportunity will provide “potential benefit to postgraduate learning”.

“Posting of students, who are willing to provide services may be subsumed under the district residency programme,” the NMC circular says, noting that the nodal officer of the states shall facilitate such posting from volunteers to help the health authorities of Uttarakhand.

Char Dham Yatra or visits to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is one of India’s main Hindu religious activities. Last year, over 40 lakh pilgrims visited Uttarakhand for the yatra.

The NMC introduced the district residency programme in 2021 to give post graduate students exposure to district health systems for three months.

The students can serve the three months either at a stretch or in parts during which they gather experiences while providing speciality care at the secondary health care centres.

Gangadhar said the commission received requests from the Uttarakhand government anticipating a huge number of pilgrims this year.“We seize the opportunity. At the moment, the programme is only for this year. If more students apply, the duration of duty may even be less,” he said.

The NMC says there will be heavy footfall of tourists and pilgrims, increasing the demands for healthcare. Unlike other places, the health needs will be different as people will be exposed to high altitude related medical complications.