An ambulance was donated to the Bandipora district by three Non-Governmental Organisations Wednesday in presence of the Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar.The function was held at the official residence of Mr Akhtar in Gupkar, Srinagar, who stressed that the ambulance must be especially used for meeting the cases of school emergencies in Bandipora.The Minister said the ambulance will be available on call, for which a helpline number will be soon issued, and it will also help in catering to the medical needs of people living in the far-flung areas of Bandipora, who don't have access to proper healthcare.
"The ambulance will further augment the existing infrastructure of the health department in Bandipora which has to cater to a large population with meagre resources," Mr Akhtar, who lives in Bandipora, said.
HN Wanchoo Trust in association with Sakaal Trust and 'Sarhad', both based in Pune, donated the ambulance. Dr HN Wanchoo, chairman of HN Wanchoo Trust, donated the ambulance on behalf of all the three NGOs."We are happy to make this donation for Bandipora and we would slowly donate ambulances for other districts of the state as well," Dr Wanchoo said."We are grateful to the Education Minister for identifying this district," he added.Mr Akhtar thanked the NGOs for making the donation and stressed that the initiative must be replicated in other districts of the state as well.