Giving a major fillip to his government’s drive to strengthen the state’s healthcare facilities, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday flagged off nine hi-tech ambulances, equipped with world-class equipment, from Mohali.The Chief Minister lauded the efforts of Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni, who had procured the ambulances from MPLAD Funds for the nine segments of Sri Anandpur Sahib Parliamentary Constituency, which includes Mohali.Urging other Congress MPs to emulate Ambika’s pro-poor initiative, the Chief Minister said such initiatives would go a long way in improving the health services in the state, which had witnessed significant strengthening of health infrastructure in the past one year. He cited the decline in the number of fatal road accidents to point out that timely on-road medical assistance through such ambulances can significantly cut down on fatalities.Captain Amarinder Singh said his government was working on the upgradation of health services in Mohali, which had emerged as a major industrial and IT hub.Speaking at the event, Ambika Soni described the ambulances as her humble contribution towards the Chief Minister's mission to provide the best health and medical services to the people at affordable cost. She also urged her colleagues to undertake similar endeavours to ensure quality health for all.While three ambulances will cater to the needs of the people of Rupnagar, two have been earmarked for SAS Nagar, three for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and one for Hoshiarpur.
The ambulances are equipped with ABS interiors, foot operated hand wash system & wash basin, inverter, emergency light bar with siren & public address system, oxygen cylinder trolley for loading 2D type oxygen cylinders & side door for accessing oxygen cylinders (without oxygen cylinders), analog oxygen delivery system besides auto loader stretcher trolley with floor mounting mechanism.In his address, Health & Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra appreciated the Chief Minister for his personal efforts in getting the Mohali Government medical college approved from the Centre. He said the previous SAD-BJP regime did not pursue the college proposal effectively, and in fact, the then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had explicitly stated the state government's inability in this regard on the relevant file.Reiterating the Congress government's commitment to set up five new medical colleges in the state, Mohindra said that a beginning had been made from Mohali and the plans for the remaining four would also be realised soon. On the occasion, Mohindra joined the Chief Minister in reviewing the plans for the Mohali medical college.Prominent amongst others who were present on the occasion were Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, MLA Mohali Balbir Singh Sidhu, MLA Nawanshahar Angad Singh Saini, MLA Hoshiarpur Shayam Sundar Arora, MLA Balachaur Chaudhary Darshan Lal, Former Ministers Jagmohan Singh Kang and Ramesh Dutt Sharma, Principal Secretary Health Anjali Bhawra, Mission Director NRHM Varun Roojam and Deputy Commissioner SAS Nagar Gurpreet Kaur Sapra.