TARIQ AHMAD PATLOO, 51, Houseboat owner, Srinagar
What he has done
Started a water ambulance service on the Dal Lake
LAST YEAR IN AUGUST, WHEN Tariq Ahmad Patloo, a houseboat owner in Srinagar, was infected with Covid and needed a ride to Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital, his own community failed him. He was unable to find a shikara to take him across the lake. Even after his recovery, the memory of that apathy haunted him more than the virus. Upon regaining his strength, Patloo began looking into the idea of starting a water ambulance service to help those Covid patients who are unable to find support. However, at above Rs 20 lakh, the cost of a commercial water ambulance—a motorized boat equipped with materials and devices to provide life-saving, immediate medical intervention—proved to be unaffordable for Patloo. So, instead, he converted a traditional shikara into a make-shift ambulance with financial assistance from the Satya Rekha Trust.
Besides houseboat and shikara owners, about 8,000 people living in the Dal Lake area, spread over 22 square kilometers, lack proper medical facilities or an ambulance to ferry them to the nearest hospital.
Patloo, determined to change the situation, worked for over a month, with a friend, to build the 35-foot-long and 5.5-foot-wide ambulance using lightweight materials, such as deodar, iron, and aluminum. He also fitted it with an outboard motor so that it could reach destinations quickly. The ambulance, launched in December 2020, has already helped many people reach the hospital and also ferried six dead bodies across the lake.
Esta historia es de la edición May 31, 2021 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 31, 2021 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
WHAT WOMEN WANT
While political parties give them schemes and promises based on their gendered roles, women across the country tell INDIA TODAY what they really expect-jobs, education, development-the same things that men desire
The Silent Revolution
A Growing Force, The Woman Elector In India Is Realising The Power Of Her Vote And Using It To ***direct Her Own And The Nation's Destiny
The Forbidding Fruit
The disturbed snow cycle, the price of imported urea, cheaper imports from the South Asian neighbourhood-the whole world, it would appear, has been conspiring against the apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh.
Chicken Soup for the Heart
Former veejay, actor and now travel influencer, Shenaz Treasury is out with a book based on past romances-All He Left Me Was a Recipe
CITY OF DREAMS
This anthology of stories about Mumbai is like the city itself-crowded and chaotic, but ultimately illuminating
Diverse Vignettes
Edited by Arunava Sinha, The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories is a landmark new anthology which includes several previously untranslated works
A BREATH OF FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Ganesh V. Shivaswamy brings a sharp and balanced approach to his three volumes on Raja Ravi Varma
Time Travel
An exhibition in Bengaluru is showcasing an unseen artwork by legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma
INDIA AT CANNES 2024
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival marks the first time in 30 years that India has a feature film in the Palme d'Or competition section. And there's lots more...
Cusp of Greatness
Shriya Pilgaonkar comes into her own as an intrepid reporter in Zee5's The Broken News