Health Minister sets 48hour deadline for GVKEMRI

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HYDERABAD: Giving an ultimatum to the GVKEMRI to start operating all the '108' service ambulances in the state within 48 hours, he..

HYDERABAD: Giving an ultimatum to the GVKEMRI to start operating all the '108' service ambulances in the state within 48 hours, health minister DL Ravindra Reddy warned on Thursday that the recentlysigned memorandum of understanding between the state government and the GVKEMRI would be scrapped if the service was not taken up within the deadline.
Speaking to the media, Reddy said that they would rethink on the MoU if the GVK group failed to run the vehicles in next two days. "At present, there are only 20 vehicles in operation across the state,'' he said and added that he would also take up the matter with the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.The health minister is said to be opposed to the government's MoU with GVK on the belief that the system has not been functioning properly for the last few years since the GVK took over the operations from the Satyam group.

At present, no ambulance is in operation in seven districts including Nalgonda, Mahaboobnagar and East Godavari. In the three north Andhra districts of Visakhapatanam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, only three out of 102 ambulances are in operation. The agitating union leaders told Express that there were about 15 ambulances in operation in the state at present with about 4,500 employees being on strike opposing the MoU with GVK.

Sources said that as the employees association was opposing the MoU with GVK, the health minister and health officials were supporting the employees who allege that the system is not properly functioning under the present management.