ETV Bharat Impact: Uttarakhand CM takes cognizance of 'Operation Ambulance', orders for enquiry

ETV Bharat's report 'Operation Ambulance' created a big impact on the Uttarakhand government as and the government has ordered an inquiry into the entire case and strict action against the ambulance operators, who are charging exorbitantly to take people to hospitals.

Dehradun:ETV Bharat has exposed the rampant practice by ambulance operators of charging exorbitantly to take people to hospitals, taking advantage of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic which is found to have infected over 15,000 persons in Uttarakhand so far.

During an investigation by ETV Bharat, it was found that ambulance operators in the state capital Dehradun were fleecing patients for taking them to hospitals. ETV Bharat team visited Indiresh Hospital, Doon Hospital, and Synergy Hospital in the city to do a reality check.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Uttarakhand government's spokesperson, Madan Kaushik said, "It is wrong to charge more than the fixed price from the people. Ambulance operators have the right to receive money only at the prescribed rate. In such a situation, the government is investigating the whole matter, and soon strict action will be taken against the culprits."

Taking cognizance of ETV Bharat's report, Uttarakhand CMO has formed two teams to investigate the entire matter. Health staff, RTO, as well as policemen, have been included in this team. "We will soon take actions on such cases," said Kaushik.

After the revelations on 'Operation Ambulance', Congress state vice president Suryakant Dhasmana thanked ETV Bharat and said," This matter is related to the public interest. In this era of the global epidemic, where people are going through an economic crisis, some people are taking advantage of people's compulsion for a small amount of money, which is extremely embarrassing."

An ambulance operator at the Doon Hospital asked Rs 6,000 for going to the Synergy Hospital even though it was hardly five km away. From the talk with the ambulance driver recorded on the camera, it was clear that the ambulance operators were trying to take undue advantage of peoples' misery and charging a hefty amount from them.

The team of ETV Bharat then went to the well-known Indiresh Hospital and inquired about the ambulance drivers standing outside the hospital to obtain how much would be the charge for taking a patient to the AIIMS, Rishikesh. A driver quoted Rs 8,000 for the trip through AIIMS, Rishikesh is about 50 km from Indiresh Hospital.

After this, the team visited the Doon women's hospital where they asked the driver of an ambulance how much would be charged for taking a patient to the Max Hospital and AIIMS. He quoted Rs 4,500.

Thus ETV Bharat’s operation exposed the ambulance operators of Dehradun. It takes a 55 km drive from Haridwar to Dehradun. For this trip, some helpless people are charged amount between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000. And this, when the ambulances do not have either oxygen or ventilator facilities nor do they have a doctor to attend to the patient.