PANAJI
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has said Goa urgently requires 100 new 108 ambulances to strengthen emergency medical services, adding that at least 50 additional vehicles would help streamline operations.
Nearly 10 ambulances are often diverted for VIP duties, reducing availability for emergencies, he added.
Rane in an interaction with the media said, that a proposal has been made to set up a state-of-the-art emergency command centre on the lines of Gujarat.
The facility would serve as a centralised call hub and head office for the State’s 108 ambulance services.
It is expected to improve coordination and response time in critical situations. The government can identify land for the project, he said.
The minister stressed that the command centre will ensure faster approvals and better monitoring of emergency operations and underlined the need for efficiency and accountability in handling medical crises.
On another issue, Rane, who also holds the forest portfolio, addressed concerns over the stray wild elephant ‘Omkar’ roaming border villages with Maharashtra. He said officials are in touch with Vantara on relocating the tusker there.
The minister said the government is committed to strengthening emergency healthcare and address public safety concerns.
Both initiatives -- the expansion of ambulance services and the proposed command centre -- are vital to safeguard lives and improve Goa’s emergency response capacity, he said.
