The first-ever boat ambulance service will soon start on Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir. tariq ahmad patloo 30 stades covid
The first-ever
boat ambulance service will soon start on Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir. Social
activist Tariq Ahmad Patloo decided to start the service after being denied
help on contracting COVID-19 earlier this year.
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“I suffered social boycott and nobody came forward to take me to the hospital after I contracted Coronavirus. My aunt also passed away recently after she suffered a heart attack and could not be rushed to the hospital on time,” says Patloo, a boat owner who has converted a shikara (houseboat) into the ambulance.
His seven-year-old daughter Jannat is also a social activist in her own way as she scoops out plastic bottles and polythene waste from the Dal Lake in a bid to keep it clean.
Now the ambulance service from the family will benefit people living along Dal Lake as they are unable to avail healthcare facilities on time during an emergency. In serious cases, patients die before they reach the hospital.
The floating ambulance will be operational after it is equipped with the necessary medical facilities.
“We will keep the services free. There may be some token charges to pay for attendants who offer services on the boat,” he says, adding that he received help in funding form a Delhi-based NGO.
Those living besides the Dal Lak find it difficult to reach hospital on time during emergencies. Pic: Wasim Nabi
The ambulance will provide proper health services to people during an emergency. “My aim is to equip the ambulance with all basic facilities including ECG, Oximeter, oxygen cylinder, wheelchair and stretcher besides a toll-free number so that people can contact easily," he says.
(Wasim Nabi is a Srinagar-based freelance multimedia journalist).