Karkal, 27 Nov 2014: The people of Belman near here at last got the facility of state-owned ambulance service 108. Belman lies halfway between Karkal and Udupi, whenever any road mishaps used to take place in the neighbourhood of Belman such as Nandalike, Mundkoor, Saccheripere and Bola, the state-owned ambulance was not available to administer first-aid and rush the victim to the nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, the state health and family welfare minister U T Khader approved the services of 108, for the request made by local peoples representative Xavier D’Mello, Supreet Shetty and other social activists to the then MP Jayaprakash Hegde in the past.
TP member Xavier D’Mello, ZP member Supreet Shetty, Belman primary health centre resident medical officer Dr Satish, nurse Usha and locals welcomed the ambulance 108 when it arrived at the premises.
The ambulance staff A M T Hanuman Reddy Belagavi, Tilak Chikmagalur, driver Mahantesh Belagavi and Santosh Belagavi were garlanded with flowers.
The social activist Ravi, Rajesh Salian, Devendra Nayak, Muralidhar Jogi, Vishwanat Patkar, Nityanand Shetty Peralpade, Jaya Poojary, Joyson D’Souza, Srinivas Bhandary and others were present.