RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, April 26: The Jharkhand government will roll out an air ambulance service from April 28.
Civil aviation director (operations) Captain S P Sinha said that chief minister Hemant Soren will launch the service being provided for the first time in the state and it will boost medical transport facility from this state to other destinations during emergencies.
Asked for further details, Sinha suggested referring to an advertisement published by the state information and public relations department today in the newspaper. The full page advertisement suggested that to avail the service one can contact dialling 918210594073 and 0651-4665515 sending mail on airambulance.cad@gmail.com.
Service charge ranges between Rs 3 lakh (Ranchi to Kolkata) to Rs 8 lakh (Ranchi to Tirupati). For other routes not specified in the advertisement the service charge is Rs 1.10 lakh per hour. The destinations specified in the advertisement are New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Lucknow and Tirupati.
Apart from Ranchi, the airport ambulance will be made available at Deoghar, Dumka, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih and Jamshedpur. The ambulance will be ready within two hours of booking and it will be equipped with emergency equipment and doctors. One can reschedule flight without affecting the programme of other applicants.
A city resident having an idea of an ambulance service welcomed the move but said there is nothing new in it except Hemant Soren is inaugurating the service.
“Ambulance service is already available in Jharkhand and one could book in the same charge. Ambulances come to Ranchi when booked. This service is not going to help the poor as it is a paid service and the state government is not going to give any subsidy in it. The state government is just playing the role of felicitator,” the resident said.
When dialled on 8210594073 to know how it is different from ambulances presently being provided, he supported the city resident but said with the involvement of the government the service has been more reliable and dependable.
“Often time used to be an issue. After booking, the company that makes the service available backs out and delays the flight. With the involvement of the government, it will drastically reduce. Apart from this, involvement of the government will make the service reliable and dependable. Government’s involvement will reduce hidden charges,” one who received the call said without introducing himself.
Asked the rule to book the service, he said: “When dialled on the given number, the caller will be explained the rule. Once the service charge is paid and payment is confirmed, flight timing will be informed to the caller.”
A civil aviation department official said that there is a plan to ensure that at least one air ambulance remains static in Ranchi to ferry people from any districts to required destinations in the shortest possible time. The official informed that they have tied up with multiple agencies offering air ambulance services, who have been empanelled with the state government.
