the goan I network
PANAJI
The government’s decision to outsource hearse van facility through the 108 Emergency Services has raised the hackles of nearly a dozen private hearse van operators functioning from the GMC after the move instantly destroyed their bread-earning avenue.
The operators, mostly from the Bambolim locality under the leadership of the local Congress MLA Francisco Silveira submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and also to Goa Medical College Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar, voicing their demand to accommodate them in the government ‘free hearse van service’.
Silveira said the Chief Minister has told the delegation that he will discuss the issue with Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and try to work out a solution.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and brother of former MLA of St Andre Ramrao Wagh has also lent his support to the private hearse van operators.
Wagh in a letter addressed to Sawant has also demanded that the local service providers should be accommodated in a service provided by GVK-EMRI or in the alternate to provide them an official prepaid counter to regulate their service by fixing rates for various destinations.
Meanwhile, the health minister who is on an overseas trip in a Facebook post has said that the government will not change its stand on the free hearse van service issue.
“Private players will not be entertained. We are firm on our decision to not allow ambulance mafia in the premises of GMC. All the ambulances operating without government approved licenses will be reported to the RTO for further cancellation of their permits,” Rane added in the social media post.There are around 12 hearse van operators who were operating
around 20 hearse vans from the GMC premises.
Silveira meanwhile claimed that the chief minister has assured him that the hearse van operators will not be thrown out of the GMC complex till the issue is discussed.
“We are not against the government decision to provide free hearse van services to the people. We just want that the present hearse van operators should be accommodated in the service and government incentive should be given to them, rather than that the 108 services contractor”, Silveira said. An NGO Hope Foundation has alleged that ambulances were being used as Hearse Van by private operators at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
Addressing a press conference, Foundation’s Director Andrea Pereira said that these operators were overcharging people. There was a complaint from a lady who had to pay Rs 12,000 to transport the body of her relative to Canacona”,
“It was only after realizing that relatives of the patients are suffering, we moved the proposal to the government,” she said.
