Who will drive these heroes to hospital?

Ambulance drivers made their vehicles their homes in the line of duty. And now some of them are being driven out of those very ambulances.

Seven ambulance drivers had complained that they had Covid-like symptoms and their agency was not getting them tested as promised earlier. After BM brought this to the notice of the BBMP commissioner, five drivers were tested and all five tested positive on Tuesday.

(On Monday, Bangalore Mirror had reported about the plight of Covid ambulance drivers. They were eating, sleeping and living in their ambulances since the agency they were working with had not given them rooms as promised; they have moved out of their homes to prevent the likelihood of infection spreading to their families.)

Sagar (name changed), an ambulance driver who tested positive on Tuesday, said he had been sick for the last six days with high fever, body pain and exhaustion.

“I called both BBMP and our agency to tell them that I couldn’t work in my present condition. Instead of making arrangements to get me tested for Covid, they told me that if I do not report to work, I will not get paid and they will hire someone else. They asked me to go to a private hospital and get treated. They have not paid our salaries yet and we have no money for treatment.”

Sagar says he lives in a small one-bedroom house, with his wife and two children below the age of 10. “My wife has fever too. I had to borrow Rs 6,000 from my friends for medical expenses. My employers are not responding to my calls.”

“Five of us took the test on Tuesday all of us tested positive. Two more drivers have to take the test. They are scared. The officials told us to return home and wait for an ambulance. But we chose to stay outside the hospital until they arranged beds for us. We didn’t want to return home and infect our families,” said Sagar.

Rajesh, another ambulance driver said that he raised the issue of insurance after Sagar fell ill but he has not received a response.


Mohan, 22, another driver who had been sick since Friday, collapsed while on duty on Sunday evening. He tested positive on Tuesday. Mohan said, “I continued to work despite running fever because I could not afford to lose my salary. My friend rushed me to a hospital where I was given intravenous glucose. I have no money for treatment and they have not informed us whether they will foot the bill as promised. ”

Mani (name changed), another driver who has tested positive is worried about his wife and son who have also fallen sick. He is requesting officials to follow up on their tests too. “If I’m gone, who will look after them?” he asks.

Some drivers say that as soon as they were recruited, the agency would give them vitamin supplements and safety gear. But with cases rising, they are asked to wear the same PPE kits for two rides. “We end up wearing them for more than 10 hours with no food or water in between,” said another driver.

BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said that the Palike had only hired vehicles from the private operators and they were paying the operators. He said, “The private operators should be paying the drivers their salaries.”

The drivers were admitted to a hospital on Tuesday evening.