Jammu, Jan 14: With a number of people dying due to lack of dependable emergency medical aid in the event of road accidents on highways, the state police have sought to add well equipped ambulances to the patrol squads proposed to be deployed along all major roads.
 Sources said that the provision of ambulances with the patrol squads has been accepted by the Home Department and these will be deployed on 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar highway, besides the roads connecting the erstwhile Doda district, including districts of Kishtwar, Doda and parts of Ramban district located away from NH1.
 Officials said that there are only two such units operating on Jammu-Pathankot Highway at Samba and Kathua. They said the addition of more patrol teams, equipped with ambulances and trained personnel for other major roads, will greatly help in reducing the deaths in the road mishaps.
 According to the officials, initially these units were approved to conduct random checking of the vehicles to rein in on the violators and curb movement of militants, but later their role was redefined.
 Sources said that the issue was raised by the police authorities with the minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani recently, while referring to the problem police personnel face in handling the critically injured accident victims as they have to wait for hours   to get medical help. 
 The proposed Patrol Squads with multi-purpose vehicles manned by well trained police personnel will be capable of reacting to any situation and remain on duty round-the-clock. The role of these units wouldn’t only be confined to general surveillance but they would also react to accidents or other major incidents taking place within their respective jurisdictions.
 The proposal envisages training of specific number of police personnel in administering first aid to be trained by the Health Department
  “It is Police which reach the accident site first but even if they launch rescue operation, they do not have necessary apparatus to help the victims. Since the proposal of constituting the rapid action teams could also not be given a practical shape, the police continue to shoulder the entire burden during such eventualities”, said a police source.
  As all the earlier proposals to deal with the increasing accidents have failed, the government has again started looking at the police. These highway patrols can ensure that lives of victims are saved till they reach the hospitals”, said a source.
 Inspector General of Police (IGP)-Jammu, Dilbag Singh said that if the proposal was given go-ahead by the Home department, it will greatly help to provide immediate medical aid to accident victims.
 “These can prove a great help not only in dealing with the traffic violations, but ensure that victims get immediate aid, in case of any mishap”, Singh said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST