'108' service ambulance arrives late at accident spot in MP; driver, staffer garlanded in protest

A '108' service ambulance arrived late at a road accident site in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district on Tuesday, but instead of venting their ire, local residents garlanded its driver, emergency medical technician with flowers and presented them coconuts, eyewitnesses said.

This unique protest took place in Anjad town, about 20 kilometers from the district headquarters, and a senior health department official later admitted a dozen out of the 38 ambulances operating under 108 emergency response helpline in Barwani are out of service.

The eyewitnesses said the ambulance of 108 service reached about an hour after the accident to pick up people injured in a collision between two motorcycles.

Local resident Girish Chauhan informed five people were injured in the collision between two motorcycles on Barwani Road.

He said two seriously injured people were taken to the district hospital in private vehicles, while the 108 service ambulance arrived late to pick up the other three persons.

Chauhan said, ''We garlanded the ambulance driver and EMT (emergency medical technician) with flowers and presented them coconuts for the delay. The 108 ambulance service in Anjad has been out of order for nearly two months. Perhaps our protest will improve the situation.'' Kamlesh Chauhan, Barwani district manager of the 108 service, said Anjad's ambulances have been deployed for two days for the 'Panchakroshi Yatra', a popular pilgrimage which attracts lakhs of Lord Shiva devotees.

He said an ambulance was sent to Anjad from the district headquarters after receiving information about the accident.

Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Surekha Jamre said, ''Twelve of the 38 (108 ambulances) in the district are out of service. People involved in managing them have been fined for negligence. Further fines will be imposed on those found negligent in providing services.''

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)