RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, April 28: Chief minister Hemant Soren accompanied by Health Minister Banna Gupta inaugurated the air ambulance service and a portal related to this at Birsa Munda Airport in the Jharkhand capital.
This is for the first time such a service is being started by the government in the state.
The purpose of starting the service is to provide emergency health care to the common citizens.
It was a common perception that only those who can get ambulance service can afford its charge but the chief minister while rolling it out made it clear that the government’s intention is to provide the service even to those who have no capacity to bear its service charge.
Soren, on the occasion, said: “Jharkhand stands firmly in the field of health. Many challenges came to the fore in providing health services in a forest-mountainous state. In this order, hundreds of ambulances are running on the roads by the state government. Health services keep changing. In remote rural areas, where four-wheeler ambulances cannot reach, a bike ambulance has been provided. Machines equipped with the world’s best technology have also been installed in the biggest hospital of the state i.e., RIMS. The people of the state are getting the facility of bypass surgery and open-heart surgery.”
The chief minister further expressed his commitment to work without being afraid of criticism.
“As long as there is human life, the challenge keeps coming forward. Criticism is also important. But the state government is doing its work. Only people with money will not benefit from air ambulances. Rather than those who do not have money, they will also be able to take advantage of it. In case of any kind of incident-accident within the state, efforts are being made to establish such a system that health facilities are provided at the earliest. This government thinks of making a helipad on the side of the road and bringing the injured to the hospital by a helicopter,” he said.
The chief minister said that the corona period has given a lesson to the country and the world and Jharkhand is no exception.
“Corona period has given a lesson to the country and the world. That emergency period cannot be forgotten. There are many airports in the state. Among these are Dhanbad, Bokaro, Giridih, Deoghar, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj, Gumla, Sahibganj (proposed). Trial landing of air ambulances has also been done at these airports,” he said.
The ambulance service charge from Ranchi is Rs 5 lakh for Delhi, Rs 7 lakh for Mumbai, Rs 8 lakh for Chennai, Rs 3 lakh for Kolkata, Rs 7 lakh for Hyderabad, Rs 3.30 lakh for Varanasi, Rs 5 lakh for Lucknow and Rs 8 lakh for Tirupati. The other destination charge is Rs 1.1 lakh per hour.
