From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Feb 6: The employees of Arogya Kavacha or Emergency Ambulance Treatment Service under 108 suffer from poor working conditions and the ambulances are also badly maintained criticized the opposition Congress members in the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

The Congress member Appaji Nadagouda, who raised the issue during the question hour in the Legislative Assembly, said 2,772 employees have been hired on a contract basis and they have been denied basic facilities.

Drivers and staff of the 108 ambulances have been sleeping the corridors of taluk panchayat offices, schools, police stations, he said pointing out that these employees have been paid meagre monthly salary of Rs 4,000.

There was no guarantee of service for personnel involved in delivery of 24x7 services and the private firm has been grabbing highest amount of profit since the launch of the service in 2008.

There were 517 ambulances under the scheme now and the conditions of these ambulances was very bad, he said.

Referring to the poor maintenance of ambulances, Nadagouda alleged that vehicles have not been given any service for several years.

There was a need to replace them immediately to ensure timely services to patients in urban areas, the Congress member said.

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah alleged that the reservation policy was not followed while hiring services of employees.

The state government has to impose strict conditions while contracting out health services to the private firm, he said.

The minister disclosed that as many as 150 vehicles would be replaced soon.

Limbavali said the state government has been spending Rs 51 crore per year to provide services round the clock.

Replying to a plea for affixing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s photographs on ambulances, the minister said all photographs of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and former Minister B Sriramulu have been removed.

The Centre had removed former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s photographs and cut-outs installed on golden quadrilateral highways soon after the UPA government came to power in 2004.

In this kind of situation, the question of affixing Dr Singh’s photos would not arise, Limbavali said.

In a reply of Sunil V Hegde of JD(S), Limbavali said there was no proposal before the government on upgradation of existing health centres or hospitals. Only the existing facilities provided at the centres or hospitals would be improved.