Election campaigning and nomination filing process in Telangana have affected the movement of ambulances, leading to delays in reaching critical destinations. This delay in response time raises concerns about the potential threat to the lives of patients being transported.
Ganesh (name changed), a private ambulance driver who regularly transports patients on the Nizamabad-Hyderabad route, encountered this challenging situation twice within the last two days.
On November 9 and 10, while transporting critically-ill patients from the district to AIG Hospital, Gachibowli, the ambulance got stuck in a crowd near the Old Collector’s office in Nizamabad. The crowd had formed due to the nomination filing of candidates in the district, forcing the ambulance to spend approximately 40 minutes navigating through the congestion.
Despite the horn and siren, the crowd was reluctant to move, compelling Ganesh to take a detour. This unexpected roadblock extended the travel time by an additional hour, turning a three-hour journey into a four-hour ordeal. Ganesh expressed concern, stating that such situations are likely to persist until the election results are announced.
As campaigning in Telangana picks up with the upcoming elections, the disruption caused by movement of politicians in the city is becoming increasingly evident. With 15 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad district, political figures ranging from the Prime Minister to MLA aspirants are actively campaigning. This movement of politicians has affected traffic movement.
Citizens fume
Citizens have taken to social media platforms like ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to voice their grievances about the inconveniences caused due to these rallies. Mohammed Yayha, on November 7, shared photos of traffic in the Ameerpet area, urging authorities to conduct election meetings on the outskirts of the city to minimise disruption, especially to ambulance movement.
Another user, Arvind Ramachander, shared a video of being stuck in traffic at Patny Circle due to Talasani Srinivas Yadav’s campaign, highlighting the public inconvenience caused by such political activities.
An official of the GVK Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), which runs the 108-ambulance service in the State, said that movement of their vehicles has not been affected due to political campaigning. However, with campaigning continuing till November 29, concerns about the impact on emergency medical services persist.
