The entire fleet of government sponsored 102 free ambulance services for mother and child came to a grinding halt across East Burdwan following a cease-work call by the operators and medical attendants today.
The striking staff threatened to abstain from their work for an indefinite period until the supervisor assigned to monitor their work is removed elsewhere.
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One ambulance met a fatal road accident in the district on 1 March, in which the vehicle’s medical attendant Ramakrishna Das died and its driver is still struggling in a critical condition at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.
The 102 ambulance operators complained that their supervisor Gautam Kundu didn’t bother to inquire about the condition of the driver and the attendant for a single time after the incident, which irked the entire workforce. There are 184 drivers and attendants and three supervisors engaged by a government-enrolled agency to run the 102 free national ambulance services in the district.
Agitators like Saidullah Mallik and Swapan Ghosh alleged, “The supervisors treat us as bonded labourers and never bother for our life, which forced us to opt for this strike.”
Under this service, all the ambulances are fitted with a GPS system (for easy tracking) and other necessary medical equipment.
This emergency transport service facilitates 24×7 freeof-cost services to pregnant women, newborn babies and their mothers as well under the Janani Suraksha Yojana and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram.
