Amalner's 102 ambulances falter too, with one contract driver per vehicle for 24 hours

After the 108 ambulance service, the 102 ambulance service in Amalner taluka has also run into trouble. Only one driver is available for each ambulance across 24 hours, and most of the drivers are on contract. As a result, patients are not getting service on time.

Women are having to depend on private vehicles for delivery. On several occasions, deliveries have taken place in an autorickshaw.

The taluka has 102 ambulances stationed at seven places: Amalner Rural Hospital, Amalgaon Rural Hospital, and the primary health centres at Janve, Mandal, Marwad, Patonda and Dhek. Except at Janve, the drivers at the other six places are contract staff. The permanent driver at Janve has also died.

The 102 ambulances were started so that mother and child could get immediate treatment during delivery. People's hopes had risen when it was recently announced that the service would be opened to other patients too. But when drivers are on leave or cannot be reached in time, the ambulance service comes to a halt.

In villages, an ambulance has to be summoned from the town or from another health centre when needed. This takes time, and the patient is left waiting. On many occasions women are forced to hire a private vehicle.

There is therefore a demand that permanent drivers be appointed to every 102 ambulance instead of contract ones. It is also being demanded that two drivers be provided at each location to keep the service running 24 hours.

There is also a complaint about the call centre. The call centre for the 108 ambulance is in Pune. As a result, instead of dispatching the vehicle from the nearby centre, one from a distant location is often sent. This causes delays.

People say that separate call centres for the 108 and 102 services should be set up at the district level. They hope that an ambulance can then be had immediately from the nearest centre.