Jamyang lauds Modi for 'single window system' for evacuating patients in Ladakh, says 'same process during UPA used to take days'

BJP MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government saying that it has implemented a "single window system" for timely evacuation of patients through helicopter from far-flung areas of the Union Territory and the same process during the UPA regime took 3-4 days at multiple levels.

Speaking in Lok Sabha during the discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants in respect of Jammu and Kashmir, Namgyal said people need to run pillar to post to get the helicopter for the evacuation of patients during the Congress-led UPA regime and sometimes patients used to die by the time helicopter is available for evacuation.

"In Ladakh, there is a tehsil named Zanskar which is the largest and oldest tehsil of India. It has a sub-divisional status. It is cut off from district headquarters from Leh district headquarters. If we have to evacuate a patient from Zanskar and admit him/her to a district hospital, there is no road and there was no helicopter provision during the UPA government. We used to take help of the Indian Army and ask for a helicopter from Air Force," he said.

"If a patient is referred to district hospital, that patient had to request to Block development officer. That officer will then write to Sub-Divisional Magistrate. The SDM will write to the Deputy Commissioner who will then write to Chief District Medical Officer. After investigation, the CDMO will write to the Deputy Commissioner who will then write to Kashmir Divisional Commissioner. He/she will write to AOC (Air Command chief) Udhampur who will write to Leh AOC then we used to get one helicopter to evacuate a patient. That file goes to seven different tables. It used to take two-three days on every table. When the helicopter comes after approval, that patient used to die," the Ladakh MP said.

Namgyal referred to an incident where a helicopter was arranged to evacuate a patient from one of the backward regions of Ladakh Ralakung in 24 hours.

"I want to give an example of what happens in the Modi government. This government has deployed a subsidised Pawan Hans helicopter. Four days back, I got a call regarding the evacuation of a patient from the backward Ralakung region. I called the concerned officer and requested to airlift the patient tomorrow morning. That patient was airlifted and admitted to the district hospital the next morning. This effectiveness has now come there. The Modi government has implemented a single-window system," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )