NAROWAL: Four vehicles of the Rescue 1122 have been parked owing to a lack of maintenance for the last one year leaving the public at the mercy of the unaffordable private services.

The district administration has failed to have these vehicles fixed and costly equipment has allegedly been stolen from them.

Sources told Dawn that three ambulances and a fire vehicle had been out of order for the last one year. “A fire vehicle is worth Rs170 million and a workshop had estimated Rs500,000 for repair and maintenance. The fire vehicle was sent to Lahore for repair in February last year and it was sent back after some time without any work,” sources said.

They said fire engines disappeared from the Rescue 1122 station in Narowal. Instead of having these vehicles repaired for use, they said, the officials had parked three ambulances and the fire vehicle at the sports gymnasium adjacent to the rescue building.

The Rescue 1122 acquired 11 ambulances from the health department in 2017 on the order of the Punjab government. Four of these ambulances, sources said, were declared unfit for use and returned to the health department and seven ambulances were added to the PES fleet. These vehicles are used to shift patients to hospitals in Lahore and other major cities including Sialkot.

District Emergency Officer Adnan Nawaz claimed that the three ambulances were the health department property and it was responsible for their maintenance. As for the fire vehicle, he said, the service lacked funds to have the vehicle repaired.

Chief Executive Officer Health Dr Khalid Javed categorically said the Rescue 1122 was responsible for the upkeep of the ambulances.

Citizens have demanded that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar take notice of the negligence of the officials concerned and ensure repairs of the ambulances and the fire vehicle for public good.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2022