Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given strict instructions to the police to cancel the driving licence (DL) of those who overtake ambulances. Speaking after flagging off 150 new 108 ambulances under the Arogya Kavacha scheme in front of Vidhana Soudha here on Wednesday, the CM said: “Traffic density is increasing in cities like Bengaluru. Naturally, vehicle riders and drivers tend to block the movement of ambulances and overtake them. This has to be curbed at any cost. I have given instructions to the police authorities to impound the driving license of people who overtake ambulances”.
“My government is committed to the slogan, ‘Health for all and health everywhere’ and we have launched several programmes to this effect. The Health sector has been one of the priority sector because of which more impetus was given”, he said.
Earlier, there were 517 ambulances under the ‘Arogya Kavacha’ scheme and his government had added 368 new vehicles. The old 150 ambulances would be used for other purposes. The 108 ambulances were helpful in shifting patients who were in dire need of medical assistance, CM added.
Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said 150 new ambulances had been purchased to replace those which had run 3 lakh km. The government was also considering hiking the salary of 108 ambulance staff. The honorarium of Asha workers would be deposited to their bank accounts from next month, he added.
