Pashu Sanjeevini ambulance of the Department of Animal Husbandry which has not been used for the last four months to attend to accidents and emergency health condition of cows and other domesticated animals will shortly get drivers to put it into use.
“We are outsourcing drivers through the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat. The process is in the final stages. The ambulance will be in action in the next few days,” said Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department’s Polyclinic, Mangaluru, D. Ramaprakash. Two doctors will work on rotation on this ambulance, he added.
The lack of drivers kept the Pashu Sanjeevini ambulance unused since it was given in August this year. This ambulance was among the 15 given to the district polyclinics by the State government in the first phase of the programme to improve treatment facilities for animals used by farmers. Each ambulance cost ₹ 14.5 lakh and is designed for carrying out specialised surgeries.
These surgeries can be done in case of accidents, delivery of calf or any other emergency health condition. “We go to the place where the ailing animal is and provide treatment,” Dr. Ramaprakash told The Hindu . The ambulance has all facilities, including an oxygen cylinder, required to perform surgery. This ambulance has lights that will help in carrying out emergency services during the night.
The absence of drivers for the ambulance was raised by State Animal Welfare Board member Vinay L. Shetty during a meeting to review operations of Go Shalas, which was chaired by Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra. He advised officials to explore outsourcing drivers through the Zilla Panchayat.
Dr. Ramaprakash said that after the grant of the ambulance in August the related guidelines for its operation were issued in October. The two doctors posted to work on the ambulance are working in veterinary clinics and they will be called to serve when there is an emergency situation. The services of this ambulance can be availed of by calling the centralised control room on Ph: 1062 or by calling the polyclinic in Mangaluru, he said.
Dr. Ramaprakash said that the new building for the polyclinic in Kodialbail, which is being built at a cost of ₹ 2.5 crore, will be ready by January.
