Now Reading: Gurugram ambulances take double the recommended response time
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Gurugram ambulances take double the recommended response time
An ambulance in Gurugram last month took 30 minutes to reach a society 4 km away, twice the recommended 10-minute urban response time under the Ministry of Health's 2025 guidelines. Doctors and…
An ambulance in Gurugram last month took 30 minutes to reach a society 4 km away, twice the recommended 10-minute urban response time under the Ministry of Health's 2025 guidelines. Doctors and drivers say bad roads, waterlogging, and congestion are routine, especially at Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO Chowk, and Sohna Road. The NHAI prescribes a Rs 10,000 penalty per missed benchmark for highway accidents, but no consolidated government data tracks Gurugram's overall ambulance response.
Gurugram traffic police in February 2024 fined 52 motorists Rs 10,000 each for blocking ambulances, but could not provide updated figures. Assistant commissioner Satyapal Yadav said a plan to merge private ambulances with the Dial 112 service did not work out, and new measures are being planned. The MCG said it is active on road repairs but did not share a timeline.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Gurugram's road infrastructure has not kept pace with its population growth. The city's master plan, revised in 2031, earmarked land for road widening that remains unacquired. The MCG's road repair budget for the current financial year is Rs 250 crore, but tenders for pothole-filling are routinely delayed by monsoon rains. The National Green Tribunal's 2019 order banning cutting of trees for road widening on Golf Course Extension Road has compounded the problem. The next test for the city's emergency response will come in July 2026, when the Ministry of Health evaluates state compliance with the 2025 operational guidelines, which include a mandatory GPS tracking system for all government ambulances.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
