Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: With an objective to ensure that the existing 108 ambulance service reaches people in rural areas, Odisha government on Saturday added 92 advanced life saving vehicles to the existing fleet of 108 ambulance.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the ambulances at a special function held at Transport Bhawan today.

The entire cost for the purchase of the new fleet of ambulances have been borne by the State government, informed Health Minister Pratap Jena.

The 108 ambulance service was inaugurated in Odisha on March 5, 2013 and has presently a fleet of 420 vehicles spread across 30 districts.

Out of the total 420 vehicles, 364 are Basic Life Support (BLS) and 54 are equipped with advance life support (ALV) systems.

Apart from the 108 ambulance service, Odisha has additional 500 vehicles under the 102 ambulance service for the transportation of expectant mothers and sick infants.

Official sources said, nearly 31 lakh people have been benefitted by ambulance services in Odisha.

The addition of the ambulances will help ensure timely shifting of the critically injured patients of various road mishaps and other emergencies to nearest hospitals.

"Odisha government wants to make sure that ambulance services are available in all the villages in the state," said Jena.

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