Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Auto ambulances for Covid-19 patients
AMBERNATH: The Ambernath Citizens Forum (ACF) and Thane traffic police have launched 25 auto rickshaws-turned-ambulances for the patients to reach hospitals safely and also avail basic facilities like oxygen.
These ambulances will be majorly available for the Covid patients while they will also entertain non-Covid patients in case of emergencies. The autos will run under the banner ‘Jivdani Auto Ambulance’.
Thane DCP (traffic), Balasaheb Patil, said, “We have supported the initiative of ACF, which will solve problems of people. Initially, we have launched 25 such ambulances which have facilities of PPE kit for the driver, mini-oxygen cylinder, oximeter, plastic partition, N-95 masks, sanitiser and details of all hospitals with their numbers to check for availability.
“Through this, patients can reach out to any hospital quickly. Also, due to the availability of oxygen, the patient and his family won’t panic. At the same time, they just have to pay regular fares as per the meter.”
ACF member, 45-year-old Dhananjay Moolya, said, “We got this idea to make a rickshaw ambulance for two important reasons. Firstly, ambulances are charging exorbitant for travelling in the city. People are forced to pay more for just a few minutes’ journey. Secondly, auto drivers are getting infected while they help Covid patients to reach hospitals as they do not have money to spend on their safety. Taking auto drivers into confidence, we started ambulance rickshaws through which they will be protected. Brilliant Polymers (Ambernath MIDC) has sponsored the initiative with Nagrik Seva Mandal. We have a dedicated helpline (89835 06000) for the same.”
Mukund Kamte, 41, who experienced this service, said, “I was admitted to the Sanjivani Hospital for the last 10 days and was weak at the time of my discharge. After leaving the hospital, for almost 15 minutes, I didn’t find any rickshaw. A friend called the helpline behalf and I got an auto in 10 minutes.”