Ambulance drivers claim most of the vehicles passed maximum miles they were permitted to cover on roadImagine a young woman in labour hopping from one ambulance to another struggling to get to the hospital on time. Well, this was a real life situation in Chitradurga district two months ago when a pregnant lady due to deliver was made to shift ambulances.The first ambulance reached the spot on time but broke down in between because the engine failed. Luckily, they were able to get a second ambulance in the vicinity on time but to her bad luck continued and even the second ambulance broke down.The family had to ultimately take a private vehicle to the hospital after waiting for hours.In another incident, a 27-year-old male from Davangere who had consumed poison was made to shift to a private vehicle as the tyre of the ambulance punctured.These are the grim examples of how unfit these life-saving services have become because of low maintenance.The drivers of these ambulances have been increasingly complaining about frequent breakdowns as they say that the vehicles are in poor condition and unfit for use.The drivers also alleged that most of the vehicles have passed their life expectancy and the maximum miles they were permitted to cover on the road.They say that despite complaining several times to their respective head of the departments nothing has been done so far.Sridhar M, a member of the ambulance drivers union, said: “From 2008-2010 the servicing was fairly prompt because it was done in service centres but post there has been a lot of discrepancies. Officials colluded with the service centre management and started clearing false bills despite the fact that problems figured in the check list were not attended to. We were forced to sign on the slips despite repairs not being done. The ambulance was just returned to us. We tried to convey the problems several times but nobody addressed it. We have even given a written complaint in this regard along with the documents to the higher authorities but to no avail. The same thing still continues.”Repairing existing ambulances were also part of their prime demands that they submitted to the state government during their strike recently. In spite of assurances it has not been solved.Another driver said, “If we voice our demands, they threaten us with our jobs. According to rules, the engine oil must be changed after the vehicle crosses every 7,000 kms. But we have been plying the vehicle with the same engine oil for 10,000-20,000 kms. The tyres of the vehicle should be changed if it crosses 50,000 kms and the vehicle itself should be scrapped if it crosses four lakh kms but none of this is being done so far.”Apart from repairing the ambulances, there were several other demands that included regular payment of salaries, regularisation of leaves etc. Shri Shail Hugar, vice president of the 108 ambulance service union, said, “Several vehicles have crossed more than six lakh kilometres. We have been meeting the health secretaries and the minister with photograph and documents to get the ambulance repaired. But nothing has been done so far. There would be at least more than 300 ambulances that would require replacement as per our estimates. Many drivers complain that several times the ambulance either breaks down or the tyre punctures. We have to immediately call the next ambulance that is there in the vicinity to fetch the patient. We have urged that the maintenance work of the ambulance be taken up by the KSRTC to several authorities.” The demand regarding the wages is likely to be solved by year end, the union said. The total budget released for Arogya Kavacha-108 ambulance has increased from Rs 31.56 crore to 103 crore in 2015. As of now there are 711 ambulance vans and 30 bike ambulances have been operating in the state so far.S S Perveez, head ERC, Quality & Marketing, GVK EMRI, Karnataka however denied any such maintenance issue and said that the drivers were making the allegations because their appraisals have been withheld for some time.“The vehicle can break down if there is an engine failure or an accident. It is not necessary that it is because the ambulance has crossed the maximum miles. There is no issue with the maintenance as such and all the ambulances have been repaired on a regular basis. We have replaced 150 ambulances recently.”