40 ‘auto ambulances’ give patients free ride to hosps

Pune: The Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat, in association with Pune Feed the Need and Arogya Sena, has made available 40 autorickshaws equipped with portable oxygen cylinders to take Covid-19 patients to hospitals free of cost.

Shafique Ibrahim Patel, president, Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat, said, “We have 102 drivers who work in shifts. We offer free service to Covid-19 patients who need to go to the hospital. The service is available in various parts of Pune, including Peth areas, Kondhwa, Wadgaonsheri, Vishrantwadi, Baner, Wagholi, Pashan, Katraj, among others.”

While funds for this project were raised by the Rickshaw Panchayat, NGOs donated portable oxygen cylinders, sanitisation equipment, cleaning agents, and personal protecttion equipment (PPE) kits for drivers.

“We call these autorickshaws ‘auto ambulances’. After every ride, the vehicles are completely sanitised. In each vehicle, there is a partition dividing the driver space from the passenger area. The drivers also give patients access to oxygen cylinders when required while on way to the hospital. In case a patient fails to get a bed at one hospital, s/he can use the same vehicle to reach another hospital, and so on, till s/he finds a bed. The services are available for 24 hours free of charge,” explained Arshad Ansari, vice-president of the Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat.

Call 9850494189 or 7841000598 for free ‘auto ambulance’ service for Covid patients.