The popular Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar has got its first floating ambulance service.?
The floating ambulance service?or the shikara ambulance was introduced by Tariq Ahmad Patloo, a houseboat owner, in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He came up with the idea soon after he tested positive for COVID-19 and there was no one to escort him to his houseboat.
He then decided to start a boat ambulance service for helping people living in the Dal Lake area, according to a report by India Today.
¡°When I tested positive a few months back, it was a harrowing time for me and my family. Nobody would come forward to help me. Nobody even helped me cross the lake so that I could go to the hospital. That is when I realised how necessary it was for the lake to have a boat which was dedicated for these medical purposes,¡± Ahmad told India Today.
The boat equipped with basic medical equipment took a month to build.
Shmad said there will be a helpline for those in need of a treatment.