CM to inaugurate Kerala’s first marine ambulance on Thursday

KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate Pratheeksha, the first marine ambulance acquired by the state fisheries department, through videoconference at 9.30am on Thursday.  The floating out ceremony of two other ambulances — Prathyasa and Karunya — will he held on the occasion.The marine ambulance, having a length of 23m and a width of 5.5m, can move at a speed of 14 knots per hour and are being acquired to rescue fishermen in distress at sea.

The boats have facility to provide medical assistance to 10 people at a time. This will help provide first aid to rescued fishermen and shift them to shore as soon as possible. Each boat will have four sea rescue guards, paramedical staff, emergency medicines and a mortuary. Kerala state Inland Navigation Corporation will appoint trained technical staff in the boats.

While Pratheeksha will be stationed at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, Prathyasa and Karunya will be stationed at Vypeen and Beypore in Kozhikode. The state government had entered into an agreement with Cochin Shipyard on May 31, 2018,  to purchase three marine ambulances. They together cost `18.24 crore. While BPCL came forward to bear the cost of one ambulance, Cochin Shipyard agreed to provide `3 crore from its CSR fund.

The state government provided `7.36 crore from Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund and the fisheries department sanctioned `2 crore from plan fund. The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology provided technical assistance for boat building. Fisheries Minister Mercykutty Amma will float out Prathyasa, while Fisheries secretary Tinku Biswal will float out Karunya.