KOCHI: After running successfully for close to five years and saving thousands of lives, the largest fleet of ambulances in the district, the Raksha Angels which were a dial away at toll-free number 102, will wind up operations in Ernakulam come March 31. An initiative of the district administration in collaboration with Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kochi chapter, Angels International Foundation and the Motor Vehicles Department, the prestigious project was flagged off in 2015 under the aegis of former district collector M G Rajamanickam.
352 ambulances run by private operators were connected through a unified network to a central console at General Hospital. “The service is being implemented by Angels Foundation and ran seamlessly for four years with an average arrival time of just under 10 minutes. However, unfortunately, we are compelled to shut down,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, president, IMA, Kochi. The project has been grappling with a number of hurdles. “The 24-hour console is being operated by six Kudumbashree staff members who work in 12-hour shifts. Their salaries and other day-to-day expenses were being met by the CSR fund forwarded by Kochi Refineries Limited for the last two years.
The company is reluctant to support any further,” said Najeeb Hamza, executive director of the project in Ernakulam. Furthermore, the renewal of the GPS tracking system installed in all Raksha Angels ambulances costs Rs 1,800 annually. “Angels Foundation does not have the capital to renew the GPS license for all the vehicles. Hence, we had directed ambulance owners to cover the cost and many of them are unwilling to do so. We have registered many dropouts from the service,” said Najeeb. Raksha Angels has seen a sharp decline in the number of ambulances under its wing over the last six months with the count dropping to a little over a 100 as per the latest estimate.
Another reason touted for Raksha Angels’ imminent shut down is the introduction of Kanivu 108 ambulances by the state government in September last year. “Many people are preferring to hire Kanivu ambulances as they are a completely free of cost. We, on the other hand, do not interfere with the particulars of the payment and the drivers are free to fix the charge,” added Najeeb.