Mangalore: No fuel - Govt ambulance stranded during emergency
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Feb 9: We had, on Wednesday February 6, carried a story about the poor condition of Arogya Kavacha ambulance service, an ambitious project launched by the state government to help sick and injured people from all over the state. The issue, raised by Appaji Nadagouda of the Congress, had thrown light on the plight of the employees manning the service, poor condition of ambulances, and apathy of the agency entrusted with the task of managing the scheme.
If an incident which occurred on Friday near here is any indication, there was no exaggeration in what Nadagouda said in the assembly.
We have heard about 108 ambulances coming to the spot with inordinate delay, expressing inability to reach due to distance, traffic or other reasons.
The case in hand refers to an accident that occurred at Savanur near Puttur on Friday afternoon, wherein two persons were injured. The 108 ambulance had been promptly driven to the spot of the accident after the call came. Both the injured were taken to a hospital in the city. But as the ambulance approached Padil on the outskirts of the city, its fuel tank went dry, and the vehicle was stranded on the highway for about 30 minutes.
Both the people in the ambulance had suffered grave injuries.
The driver of the ambulance claimed that maintenance of the vehicle was not his responsibility, and that he was not to be blamed for the fuel having been exhausted. He however, called up a private hospital here and arranged for an ambulance to pick the injured persons.
However, it took about half an hour for the other ambulance to reach the spot. In case of critical injuries, delay of even a few minutes can reduce the survival chances of the injured, but in this case, the patients were fortunate.