In what turned out to be an awkward moment for the officials here, one of the four 102 drop back service vehicles, introduced in Madurai district on Monday, broke down shortly after being flagged off from Collectorate premises here.
The vehicles were flagged off by Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao in the presence of Government Rajaji Hospital Dean M.R. Vairamuthu Raju and other senior officials and Indian Red Cross Society members.
Soon after the vehicles exited the Collectorate campus, one of them came to a sudden halt in the middle of the road much to the embarrassment of the ambulance staff and some officials who were still present in the venue.
As the ambulance staff made desperate attempts to bring the vehicle back to life, the movement of vehicles on the road got affected and cars began to queue up.
Finally, the 102 vehicle had to be pushed by the staff to the roadside. One of the staff members said that though the vehicle was not brand new, it was working fine until inauguration. He said he was surprised how it broke down suddenly.
Earlier, flagging off the vehicles, Mr. Rao said that 102 service was exclusively for pregnant women and infants. He said it would be useful for transporting the mother and the newborn from hospital to their home after delivery.
He also handed over the keys of two-wheelers to two field-level staff working in the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.
