CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, Dec 2: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has criticised the Hemant Soren government for the poor functioning of the 108 ambulance services in the state. He tweeted regarding this where he mentioned that during his tenure as the CM, there were a total of 329 ambulances in the state and the current government has not added even a single new one to the count.
“Hemant government has ruined Jharkhand. 108 ambulance service was started in our time. In this, 329 ambulances were providing service in the entire state. Far from adding even a single new ambulance to this service, the Hemant government could not run even those that were running properly,” Das tweeted.
झारखंड को बदहाल कर दिया है हेमंत सरकार ने।
हमारे समय में 108 एंबुलेंस सेवा शुरू की गई थी। इसमें पूरे राज्य में 329 एंबुलेंस सेवा दे रही थीं। इस सेवा में एक भी नई एंबुलेंस जोड़ना तो दूर, जो चल भी रहीं थीं उन्हें भी सही तरीके से चला नहीं पाई हेमंत सरकार। https://t.co/tGgDTcd6ao
— Office of Raghubar Das (@OfficeofRDas) December 2, 2022
Notably, the 108 ambulance service is being operated by emergency medical service provider Ziqitza Healthcare Limited, which also provides ambulance services to four other states such as Punjab, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim.
The Ziqitza Healthcare Assistant Vice President and project head in Jharkhand Milton Singh had earlier said that enquiry should not take more than two minutes and they just want to know the location and the criticality of the patient and dispatch the ambulance.
Moreover, he added that in the last four-and-a-half years of their experience in Jharkhand, their average time of reaching the patients in urban areas is around 15 to 16 minutes and in rural areas, it is 19-20 minutes.
Earlier, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda also objected to the delay in ambulance services reaching the patients in villages. He had asked state Health Minister Banna Gupta to simplify the process of calling ambulances.
ALSO READ: Jharkhand: Arjun Munda raises issue of delay in 108 ambulance services
“Four children recently met with an accident while returning to their home in Bundu after buying the national flag. The family kept on calling the 108 service but it did not come. One child is still being treated at RIMS hospital in Ranchi,” Munda told lagatar24.com earlier in an interview.
Notably, the Additional Chief Secretary of Health Arun Kumar Singh said to give a written complaint at 104 and they will get it inspected.
Moreover, out of the 300 plus free ambulances, Khunti has the minimum (six ambulances) and Ranchi has the maximum (30 ambulances) and ambulances are stationed across the state as per the district’s population size.
