Auto ambulance comes to citizens’ rescue
ByVinay DalviVinay Dalvi / Updated: May 16, 2021, 06:00 IST
Residents of
Covid patients
Considering the persistent shortage of ambulances and overcharging by drivers amid the raging second coronavirus wave, a group of people from Ambernath in Thane, with the help of
Thane traffic police, has started an auto ambulance service for the residents. Twenty-five
auto drivers have been enrolled for the service, to begin with, and a helpline number has been publicized among residents with the help of social media.
“They approached us with the proposal, and we found it viable and understood the need to take it up at the earliest. The matter was discussed with the Kalyan RTO, and approval was given to convert the auto-rickshaws into ambulances,” said DCP Balsaheb Patil of Thane Traffic Police.
As per the plan, the Delhi government will ensure the delivery of medical oxygen cylinder at the doorstep of the Covid-19 patients who are under home isolation.
The service is free of cost and available round the clock
A company providing e-mobility services has partnered with the Delhi government to provide sanitised electric vehicles for safe commute of patients to healthcare facilities across the Capital round the clock. The service is free.
This came a day after Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh flagged off a fleet of auto ambulances to provide transportation services to mild COVID patients to city hospitals. Mr. Singh, on Wednesday, said the service would be extended to Uttar Pradesh over the coming days.
The ‘Jeevan Seva App’, created by Prakriti E-Mobility and available on both the Google Play Store and on the iOS App Store, provides a dedicated EV cab service to help patients commute for treatment from any point in Delhi and without any charges.
In Bhopal, Police Action Against Auto-Ambulance May Have Cost COVID Patient His Life
Javed Khan has been running a free service for patients desperate for help. On May 1, he was responding to one such SOS call when the police detained him for violating the lockdown and illegally transporting oxygen.
Representative image. Photo: Simone D. McCourtie/World Bank
Rights3 hours ago
Javed Khan, 34, was driving his auto-ambulance to pick up a COVID-19 patient â 57-year-old Madan Singh â from Ayushman Hospital to take him to Narmada Hospital in Bhopal when the police stopped him at a barricade. They did not allow him to proceed, citing COVID-19 restrictions. The police did not budge even as Khan tried to reason with them that he was only ferrying COVID-19 patients in his autorickshaw. Instead, he was detained and held for two hours.
Police book Bhopal auto-ambulance driver Javed for violating Covid rule, withdraw case after outrage
Police have withdrawn the case against auto-ambulance driver Javed after public outrage. Javed transports Covid patients to hospitals in his auto-ambulance.
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UPDATED: May 2, 2021 13:30 IST
Javed Khan converted his auto into an ambulance to take patients to hospital for free. Photo: ANI
Police have withdrawn the case against Covid warrior Javed who turned his auto into an ambulance equipped with oxygen cylinder to transport Covid patients to hospitals. On Saturday a case was filed against him for breaking protocol. However, the case was withdrawn following public outrage.