In an initiative that will bring relief to thousands of animal lovers in the city, the the state government will soon launch a helpline dedicated to animals.
Done in association with Emergency Management and Research Insitute (EMRI) that runs 108 free service ambulance in the country, the animal ambulance called Karuna Animal Ambulance can be called for on 1962, a free helpline, and will be similar to the 108 helpline and will be operational from 6am to 10pm for now.
The vans, similar to 108 ambulances, are currently being designed and will have photos of different animals on them.
Confirming the same, Dr Kachhia Patel, Director, Animal Husbandry Department, said, " The ambulances will be equipped with all kinds of facilities like an ICU on wheels, etc and handle accidental cases and emergencies related to birds and animals. We are initially planning to start the 1962 services in seven districts of the state. The entire project is in the process hence I cannot divulge more details."
Gira Shah, Foudner, Jivdaya Charitable Trust, said, "For animals, follow-up treatment is the most important aspect. While we do have lot of vans that handle nearly 60 field cases on a daily basis, many times we do have to deny people our visit due to lack of resources. This initiative will help in the long run as it will save a lot of volunteers who help us in getting emergencies reach hospitals or our clinic. We get around 40 cases of OPD everyday."
Chetan Shah, a dog-lover, said, "This will be one of the best decisions of this year if the government starts a service like this. We as volunteers feel helpless at times when we are unable to reach the spot of emergency on time and then take the animal to a shelter. Ambulances, in such cases can at least provide basic treatment while being taken to a hospital. Animals can't speak and hence it is even more painful to see their plight."
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