New Delhi: At the tender age of 14, helpless Himanshu Kalia experienced a tragedy which turned out to be a life-changing moment for him.
As he kneeled down and prayed for his father's life, he wished no one had to go through the same experience like his.
He also asked God to make him capable enough to lend a hand to anyone in need.
Famously known as the 'Ambulance Man', Himanshu came to know that his father had met with an accident in Delhi and he rushed to spot. He took him in a rickshaw to a nearby hospital where he got to know his father need to be taken to a bigger hospital.
In a state of confusion, he tried to get an ambulance but no one came to help.
After a while, an auto-rickshaw driver offered to drive him without any money to AIIMS.
Unfortunately, due to hours of delay, his father slipped into a coma and it took two-and-a-half years before his father could come out of coma and recover.
When he got married, his family agreed to have an ambulance as a wedding gift, told Kalia in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat.
From then on, the family today, including his father being a significant part of it, runs around more than a score of ambulances in Delhi and offers free service to anyone.
Working as insurance consultants, he and his wife manage most of the funds by themselves.
During the coronavirus-induced lockdown, about 200 people were taken to the hospital during the lockdown, including 35 to 40 corona infected patients by them.
His wife Twinkle Kalia, who claims to be the first woman ambulance driver in Delhi, has also received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award in 2019.
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