K'taka govt. to take over 108 ambulance service from private control, announces Min. Dinesh Gundurao
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced on Wednesday that the state government will take over the management of 108 ambulance services, taking them out of the hands of private agencies.
Until now, the 108 ambulance services were operated by private agencies despite being owned and funded by the government. "There were several operational problems under private management. Ambulance staff often faced delays in salary payments, and the government had to step in repeatedly to resolve such issues," Rao said.
He emphasized that the government had been bearing the entire cost of the service from fuel expenses to employee wages while the operations were outsourced to a private entity. The arrangement included a single command center for the entire state, which Rao said was inadequate for managing such a critical health service.
Highlighting the importance of the 108 service in saving lives during medical emergencies, Rao revealed that a pilot project to directly manage ambulances was successfully implemented in Chamarajanagar district. Encouraged by its success, the government is now ready to expand the model statewide.
Beginning next month, all government ambulances will be brought under the direct supervision of the health department. Within three months, the department also plans to take control of the command and control functions currently handled by private agencies. A central command center will be established in Bengaluru, along with district-level centers to ensure better coordination and faster response times.
Minister Rao also added that this transition will not only streamline operations and enhance service quality but also result in significant savings running into hundreds of crores for the state exchequer.
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Oppn to take joint call on impeachment motion against CEC, says Congress; Akhilesh voices support
New Delhi (PTI): The entire Opposition will take a collective call on moving an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Congress leader K C Venugopal said on Wednesday, a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for such a move.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also extended support to Banerjee in her fight against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, however, refused to comment on the matter.
Talking to mediapersons in the Parliament House complex, Venugopal said they are “positively” looking at the suggestion.
Banerjee, who was in the national capital as part of her campaign against the SIR exercise in West Bengal, on Tuesday called for the impeachment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and sought to rally support from the other opposition parties on the issue.
Banerjee also appeared in the Supreme Court on Wednesday and argued her petition against the SIR exercise, alleging unfair targeting of West Bengal by the poll panel and bulldozing of its citizens.
Asked about Banerjee's call to move an impeachment motion against CEC Kumar, Venugopal, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said, “The Trinamool Congress has already contacted the Congress... I think the entire Opposition will take a call on the matter, which is one of the most relevant issues raised by the Trinamool. We are positively looking at it.”
Akhilesh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party is the second largest party in the Lok Sabha with 37 MPs, came out in support of the Trinamool supremo, and said, “Mamata Banerjee has donned a black coat against the black deeds of the BJP.”
“People must come forward. Losing your vote is losing your right. Everything will be lost one by one... Your citizenship would be questioned. We are with honourable Mamata Banerjee,” he added.
Asked about Banerjee's remarks, Rahul Gandhi, however, said, “I am not commenting on that.”
In the meantime, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi stressed that transparency should be maintained by the Election Commission.
“The way the BJP is misusing the SIR and using the Election Commission to violate voters’ rights by deleting their names on a large scale is deeply concerning. Mamata Ji is fighting this battle because, in West Bengal, a large number of votes belonging to people who traditionally vote for her party have reportedly been removed,” she said.
“She has taken this matter to the Supreme Court, and I welcome the step. On the impeachment motion she is talking about, if the Election Commission, an institution expected to uphold institutional morality, sets that aside and follows someone’s agenda, it is completely wrong,” Chaturvedi said.
“I hope that the Supreme Court, which is a constitutional provision and part of the legal process available to political parties, takes cognisance of this matter so that the credibility of the Election Commission does not collapse. The transparency of the poll panel must be maintained, and voters’ rights must be protected. I believe she will achieve victory in this fight,” she added.
The Trinamool supremo’s remarks came a day after she, along with her delegation, walked out of a meeting with CEC Kumar and other election commissioners on the issue of SIR, alleging that the poll panel chief showed arrogance and humiliated them.
Flanked by people from her state allegedly affected by the SIR exercise, Banerjee claimed at a presser that the electors whose names were being deleted were Trinamool supporters.
The process for impeaching the CEC is similar to that for a Supreme Court judge. The removal can take place only on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
A motion for removal may be introduced in either House of Parliament and must be passed by a special majority – a majority of the total membership of the House and a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
