Boat ambulance sees light of the day in Odisha’s Malkangiri

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 2:

Healthcare facilities in one of the backward most areas in Odisha is now a reality with the launch of boat ambulance service in cut-off region of tribal-dominated and Maoist-infested Malkangiri district.

The boat ambulance was today formally launched at the Spillway Ghat near Chitrakonda in the presence of district administration officials and people’s representative.

“A new boat has been procured with an estimated budget of Rs 70 lakh to provide health services to the residents of cut-off region. We hope that it will be in service and provide service to the needy people,” local MLA Dambaru Sisa said.

The hospital-on-waters will cater to around 30, 000 villagers of the cut off areas scattered in as many as 10 panchayats and 151 villages. The boat ambulance houses beds and mini operation theater where minor surgeries and deliveries can be performed in emergency situations. The boat has special rooms for doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

“The doctors and the allied staff will visit the cut-off regions and treat them as per their micro plan. The boat will ferry at least twice at an interval of 10 days in a month,” Malkangiri CDMO Uday Shankar Mishra said.

Worth mentioning, the government is contemplating to introduce two more such floating mobile health units in future depending on its response.