Haryana Roadways to modify mini-buses into ambulances
AMBALA: As fresh Covid-19 cases surge in Ambala, the Haryana Roadways has decided to transform its existing five mini-buses or pink buses that were earlier used for local services into ambulances to ferry infected patients to hospitals and back home.
“The buses will have four beds equipped with oxygen supply through cylinders and other medical facilities,” said Roadways general manager Munish Sehgal on Monday.
“The department has instructed every bus depot in state to get ready with the buses by Wednesday. Other than four beds, the buses will have a stretcher. We have nine such buses here and five of them are expected to get ready by Tuesday,”
Sehgal said.
On being asked about the operation of these buses, he said that it will be decided by the directorate that if these will be handed over to the health department or the roadways will manage its operations.
“The instructions are yet to arrive but I hope the operating mechanism will be carried out by the roadways. We have deployed more than 16 drivers to the health department due to shortfall of ambulance drivers as they got infected,” the officer added.
The Haryana Police have also converted their new police vehicles under the ‘Dial 112 project’ into ambulances and currently, Ambala has 15 such vehicles.
Ramesh Kumar, PRO to SP Ambala, said, “Other than these 15 Innovas catering to infected patients in Ambala Cantt, city,
Shahazadpur, Mullana and other blocks, five more vehicles arrived on Monday. They’ll be sanctioned according to the demands.” In the recent past, locals have complained of nonavailability of government and private ambulances in district, where many have to pay more than the transport department’s fixed cost.
No buses to UP
After a request from the transport department of Uttar Pradesh, the bus services from Ambala and Yamunanagar have been stopped till further orders.
Sehgal said the roadways services for more than four districts in UP including Lucknow and Gorakhpur have been stopped.
The passengers will be dropped at the border in Yamunanagar and UP Roadways will ferry them accordingly.