51 Ambulances Added to Pune’s Zilla Parishad Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Many Districts To Follow Pune ZP Pattern

Mehab Qureshi

Pune, October 9, 2020: In a unique initiative, the Pune Zila Parishad has become the first rural administration in the country to purchase 51 ambulances.

This initiative is taken to ensure the immediate treatment to the people in rural areas. “We have procured 51 ambulances, all of them provided by TATA motors as a part of the deployment of emergency vehicles amid the COVID-19 pandemic”, said Ayush Prasad, CEO of Pune’s Zilla Parishad.

Immediate treatment to the people in rural areas has been appreciated from all walks of life. “The ‘Pune ZP pattern’ of ambulance procurement has spread across the country as information is being sought by Bhandara, Ahmednagar, Osmanabad and other districts of Maharashtra as well as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat”, he said.

COVID-patients in rural areas did not have oxygen equipped ambulances. “As a result, patients were having difficulty reaching the hospital on time. Considering this problem in rural areas, Pune Zilla Parishad decided to procure ambulances from the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions from the grants received by the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishads”, explained Prasad.

There are 96 primary health centres in the Pune district. The scheme aims to provide ambulances to patients in the district’s rural areas, which is owned by the Gram Panchayat itself.