‘Palki Ambulance’ Connecting People to Health Facilities in Rural Bengal

Palki Ambulance has been recently introduced to assist the emergency patients and needy pregnant women of Buxa Doors in accessing the medical care facilities including institutional delivery.

Being in the remotest and inaccessible location of the Alipurduar district of West Bengal with almost no connections to the mainland through any motor able road, Health and Family Welfare department started to provide all regular and routine healthcare services with the help of FPAI in this area.

The Palki Ambulance will now help the emergency patients and pregnant mother to reach up to Zero Point. From the Zero point, the Car Ambulance will be provided by Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal to the emergency patients and pregnant mothers to reach at the Government Hospital. Palki Ambulance is the brainchild of the district administration.

Speaking to News Sense, District Magistrate, Alipurduar, Shri Surendra Kumar Meena, IAS said, “We are introducing 8 new Palki Ambulances this month covering all the villages of Buxa Duar. Now, with the help of the Palki Ambulance, 2082 (1098 male and 984 females) of Buxa Duar will be benefitted through a safe journey towards hospital. Previously, during trekking, the pregnant mothers were carried by hanging on the bamboo with the help of the cloth”

The “Palki Ambulance” is specially designed with informative materials for the protection of infants, institutional delivery and other SRH issues. Palki ambulance also ensures comfortable space for pregnant mother with supportive commodities during journey by trekking. Several information related to SRH has been displayed on outside wall of the Palki Ambulance for creating awareness among the community people of remote areas during journey.