Bengaluru: Karnataka will purchase 275 Vet ambulances — Pashu Sanjeevini — under a Central Government scheme and the ambulances will be dedicated for the service of livestock, said Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan.

He was replying to a question raised by Muniraju Gowda in the Legislative Council. He said that 15 vet ambulances have already been purchased and they are working efficiently in Bidar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Dharwad, Vijayapura, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Mandya, Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, Chikkaballapura and Tumakuru.

In all, 12 kinds of medical facilities are available in the ambulances and the ambulance maintenance and operations. Running each of these vehicles will cost Rs. 16 lakh per annum and it will be managed under public-private partnership. Of the Rs. 50 crore needed to maintain the system, 40 percent will be provided by the State.

The 275 Veterinary ambulances will be assigned one per taluk and the Centre is releasing Rs. 44 crore. Each vehicle will have a veterinary doctor, an assistant and a driver who will go to the doorsteps of farmers, the Minister said.