'Palanquin ambulance' helps save lives of patients in remote areas of north Bengal hills

There are 14 villages in the remote Buxa Hill of ​​the Alipurduar district. If people fall sick in the area, they had to get down to Santalbari on a makeshift bamboo stretcher. But now, the Alipurduar district administration has launched the 'palanquin ambulance' service for pregnant women and patients.

Alipurduar: Pregnant women and patients from remote and inaccessible areas of the hills in north Bengal used to be taken to the hospital on a makeshift bamboo stretcher. However, now an alternative arrangement has been made and a 'palanquin ambulance' has been introduced to take the patients to the hospital.

There are 14 villages in the remote Buxa Hill of ​​the Alipurduar district. If people fall sick in the area, they had to get down to Santalbari on a makeshift bamboo stretcher. But now, the Alipurduar district administration has launched the 'palanquin ambulance' service for pregnant women and patients.

Patients and pregnant women of Baksa Hill had to be taken to the hospital 2,600 feet above sea level, which took a long time. Hence, last year, a newborn died while a pregnant woman was being carried on a bamboo stretcher. Soon after, on the initiative of Alipurduar District Magistrate Surendra Kumar Meena, the district health department and family planning department jointly launched the 'palanquin ambulance' service to avoid such deaths.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, General Manager of the Family Planning Association of India Tushar Chakraborty said, "We have already taken three pregnant women and a comatose patient to the plains in a 'palanquin ambulance' from Buxa Hills. However, carrying a patient on a 'palanquin ambulance' has become difficult due to its weight.

"Therefore, we have decided to reduce the weight of the palanquin and launch new ones. The weight of the wooden palanquin is 60 to 70 kg. But the new palanquin weighs around 25 to 30 kg so the weight was reduced. With that, it became convenient for people to drop the patients. This year, three pregnant women and one patient have been taken in the 'palanquin ambulance," he said. District Magistrate of Alipurduar district Surendra Kumar Mona said, "We have launched the 'palanquin ambulance' for the people of Buxa Hills. We want to provide health services to everyone."