LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has announced to start rescue air ambulance service adding that Punjab is the first province to start this service.
He was chairing the passing out ceremony of 393 rescuers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 73 rescue workers of Koh-e-Suleman area of DG Khan at emergency services academy Thokhar Niaz Beg on Monday.
Addressing the participants, Buzdar said that budget has been allocated for air ambulance in the current fiscal year and assured to sympathetically review the approval of risk allowance for rescuers on the pattern of Punjab police and added that work will be started for restoration of frozen allowance since 2017.
Meanwhile, the government has also expanded the scope of rescue service to 86 tehsils while motorbike ambulance service is extended to 27 districts, he continued. It is sanguine that rescue 1122 has rescued myriad people in more than 96 lakh emergencies which are a unique honour for the institution, he added.
The chief minister appreciated that more than 20 thousand rescuers of Punjab and other federating units have completed their training from the academy which enjoys the honour of being the first certified search and rescuers team by the United Nations.
He, however, regretted the board meeting was not held for 10 long years, adding that the PTI government took several initiatives for the betterment of the organization while holding regular board meetings. Meanwhile, rescuers’ service structure has been created to generate promotion opportunities, the CM affirmed. The government has given the status of an administrative department to rescue 1122 while giving the powers of a Secretary to DG, he said.
Buzdar appreciated that the rescuers have shifted thousands of coronavirus patients to hospitals and quarantine centres during the pandemic. The government will continue to provide resources for giving the best emergency services to the people, the CM concluded.
