Calls for emergency help fall on deaf ears

Hans India lensman’s efforts to get 108 ambulance prove futile

Hyderabad: Apathy and insensitiveness on the part of the much touted emergency services sent shockwaves in the city on Saturday.

Though a septuagenarian was lying in pool of blood on Habsiguda-Tarnaka stretch for almost an hour, no help came forward despite all-out efforts were made by a good Samaritan Srinivas Setty, the lensman of The Hans India. The old man became a victim of hit and run case by an auto rickshaw while he was crossing the road. The victim was bleeding profusely from head and his arm was badly twisted.

The Hans India lensman who was passing that way around 11.15 am on an assignment saw the badly injured man. He immediately stopped and called 108 and informed them about the accident and urged them to rush to the spot. But the ambulance failed to turn up even after about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, the people who gathered there saw an ambulance belonging to Kamineni Hospitals, L B Nagar, passing that way. People stopped the ambulance and urged the driver to shift the victim to the nearest hospital and save his life. But the ambulance driver refused, saying that the ambulance belonged to a private hospital and he could do nothing and zoomed away.

The people then stopped some auto rickshaws and tried to shift the victim to hospital but many drivers refused to carry him citing various reasons. It took over 20 minutes even for the police to reach the place of accident. Finally with their intervention of the two constables who came there, the patient was shifted to Gandhi Hospital.

Efforts made by The Hans India lensman to contact the family members of the victim proved futile. Though the old man had a mobile with him those whom Setty contacted said that “we do not know who this man was.

Later the police found out that the name of the old man was Dasarath and he was from Ramachandrapuram near BHEL in Medak district. They informed his family members who rushed to the hospital. Dasarath is said to be out of danger but suffered head injury and fracture in his right hand.

When The Hans India sought an explanation from the EMRI, the reply they got was that there was only one ambulance in the Uppal area and at the time of accident it was on duty at some other place. The officials said that they could not send the ambulance as none of the ambulances were available at that point of time.

It’s time the government which talks about how it hasmodernised the police and has equipped them with modern vehicles to reach any spot within 5-10 minutes of the incident, looks into how slow the reaction of emergency services in the capital city are.