Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 17 June 2025
Angshuman Roy, the State Youth President of Hindu Rashtra Shakti, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the launch of a centrally-funded air ambulance service for the individuals of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In his letter, Roy has emphasised the pressing want for a scheme like Madhya Pradesh’s PM Shri Air Ambulance Seva to be carried out within the Union Territory, the place residents usually face life-threatening conditions as a result of lack of superior medical infrastructure.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lack many superior medical services, and because of this hole, sufferers—particularly in vital situation—are sometimes compelled to journey to mainland cities comparable to Chennai or Kolkata to obtain correct medical care. For these unable to take a seat upright because of their situation, the one choice is stretcher-based transport, which isn’t solely costly but additionally logistically sophisticated.
At current, the price of transporting a stretcher affected person from the islands to the mainland is prohibitively excessive, usually amounting to a number of lakhs of rupees for simply one-way journey. The burden falls closely on households already distressed by a medical disaster. In addition to the price, the airways have their very own set of protocols, together with the requirement of advance reserving for stretcher sufferers. Even after such preparations are made, the precise journey is dependent upon whether or not the airline permits the affected person to board, inflicting additional uncertainty and nervousness.
Time is vital in medical emergencies, and any delay in transport can value lives. The present system, the place business airways management the schedule and affected person approval, has resulted in tragic outcomes when sufferers had been unable to fly in time. Angshuman Roy, in his enchantment, has identified that this case makes it completely obligatory for the Central Government to step in and supply a dependable, well timed, and free air ambulance service particularly for evacuation of vital sufferers from the islands to the mainland.
Roy cited the instance of Madhya Pradesh’s PM Shri Air Ambulance Seva, launched on 29 May 2024 by Chief Minister Mr. Mohan Yadav, below which individuals obtain free Air Ambulance Services for transportation throughout emergencies. He requested {that a} comparable mannequin be adopted for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, tailor-made to their distinctive geographical challenges. He has proposed a funds allocation of ₹55 crore for the venture, together with the leasing of plane, procurement of medical tools and so on.
In addition to the air ambulance service, Roy additionally really useful the implementation of a Medical Single Window System (MSWS)—a real-time digital platform that may coordinate emergency approvals, confirm Ayushman Bharat and Islander eligibility, and facilitate swift inter-agency communication.
Making each inter-island and mainland evacuations smoother and cost-free would convey immense reduction to residents, lots of whom at the moment reside in fixed fear over how they are going to handle if a medical emergency strikes.
Roy concluded by urging the Prime Minister to make use of his management to implement this life-saving initiative within the islands.
