Arogya Kavacha-108, a round-the-clock Emergency Response Service was launched in Bangalore on Saturday by former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava Day. This project has been taken up by the State Government in partnership with the Hyderabad-based Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI).

Presently five districts — Bangalore, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davangere and Bellary have been covered under the new scheme. On Saturday, 66 ambulances commenced their operation under the project in Bangalore.

Under the new service, when people will call at108 in case of an emergency, like ill health, accidents or fire, a fully equipped state-of-the-art ambulance will arrive within 20 minutes in urban areas and 30 minutes in rural areas. The medical staff in the ambulance will transport the affected person to hospital along with pre-hospitalisation treatment free of cost.

These ambulances have medical equipment ranging from defibrillators and ventilators to extrication tools, to handle any emergency along with Geographical Positioning System and Geographical Indication Systems to help locate the geographical position of the emergency scene.

Dr. Kalam praised the project and said it would help save the lives of victims by quickly reaching the emergency scene. Such an emergency service has helped save about 45,000 lives so far in the country.