Books that inspire and give hope
BIKE AMBULANCE DADA: The Inspiring Story of Karimul Hak, The Man Who Saved Over 4000 Lives
By Biswajit Jha, Penguin Random House
Tea estate worker, Karimul Hak s heartwarming life story is about his free bike ambulance service in West Bengal. He ferries patients 45 kms from 20 villages in and around Dhalabari to the nearest district hospital in Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district and has saved thousands of lives over the last two decades. His bike, bought with a bank loan, is modified with a cot attached to it to work as an ambulance.
In 1995 Hak lost his mother after she suffered a heart attack in the middle of the night. He could not take her to hospital because there was no transport. A year later when a co-worker collapsed, Hak tied him to his back and drove him to the hospital on his manager s bike. His colleague recovered and the idea of a bike ambulance was born to fill the gap in rural health care. His work won him the Padmashri in 2017.