Only 9 of 37 ambulances running in Mysuru; poor patients left stranded

Mysore/Mysuru: The 108 Arogya Kavacha Ambulance service, once hailed as a lifeline for Karnataka’s poor and rural communities, is now on the brink of collapse.

Launched in 2008 through a public-private partnership between the State Government and the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), the service was envisioned to provide free, 24×7 emergency medical assistance to every corner of the State, regardless of a person’s economic or social background.

At its inception, 1,900 ambulances were sanctioned to operate under the scheme across Karnataka. EMRI was tasked with maintaining the vehicles, handling repairs, paying staff salaries, and ensuring rapid response whenever a distress call was received. However, over the years, the service has steadily deteriorated.

Vehicles lying defunct, rural services crippled

Today, the reality is grim. Over 60 percent of the ambulances are off the road, lying defunct in garages, Government hospital compounds or abandoned in rural outposts due to poor maintenance and mismanagement.

 Only 40 percent of the sanctioned fleet remains operational, drastically reducing the reach of this crucial service.

The situation is particularly alarming in Mysuru district, where 37 ambulances were originally allotted. Shockingly, only nine are currently functional, while the remaining vehicles lie parked in as-is condition, many stripped for parts or awaiting repairs that never come.

 For the past four to five months, this shortage has crippled emergency medical services, leaving rural and low-income communities without affordable or timely help during critical situations.

Poor and middle class bear the brunt

When the 108 service was launched, these ambulances routinely responded even to remote rural areas, ferrying patients to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and, when needed, to taluk or district hospitals for advanced treatment.

With most vehicles now out of service, private ambulance operators are exploiting the crisis. They charge exorbitant fees, knowing that desperate families have no alternative.

These private ambulances are often seen stationed outside hospitals, including K.R. Hospital and even Government mortuaries, ready to take advantage of patients or grieving families.

For poor households, the situation has become dire. In many cases, the cost of transporting a patient now exceeds the cost of treatment, forcing families into debt or compelling them to forego life-saving care.

The 108 Arogya Kavacha ambulance service was launched in Karnataka on November 1, 2008, during the tenure of Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa, who led the BJP government at the time.

Sharaddanjali hearse van service also defunct

Adding to the crisis, the Sharaddanjali vehicle (free hearse service) launched by the Health and Family Welfare Department in Mysuru to transport the bodies of deceased persons to their native villages free of cost has also been non-operational for months.

As a result, grieving families are forced to pay thousands of rupees to private operators to transport bodies for final rites.  Ironically, shifting a deceased person now costs more than transporting a patient from remote villages to a government hospital.