Kathmandu: An ambulance purchased by a Nepali living in Australia for Dhaulagiri Hospital in Baglung has been stopped abroad for a month. The government has stopped bringing ambulances to Nepal.
There is a problem in the hospital now as the government did not allow the ambulance to be brought on time. According to KV Rana, president of the hospital, a month ago, a Nepali working there raised Rs 2.8 million and handed over the money to India's Force Motors Limited to buy a two-wheeler ambulance. However, the government did not allow it to be brought to Nepal.
"Even though the Nepali brothers and sisters there have paid the money, the government has not allowed them to bring ambulances here, nor has it exempted them from customs, so it is stopping them now," he said.
According to Rana, currently, the government has allowed only 'four-wheel drive' ambulances to operate in Nepal. Before 2075, two-wheeler ambulances were allowed to operate. "The ambulance purchased now is of international standard, reliable, and has a lot of facilities," he said.
'Government does not provide ambulances, does not allow people to use what they buy'
According to hospital chairperson Rana, the patients could not be evacuated as there was no ambulance at the hospital. Patients have not been able to get services from one hospital to another.
"This is a big hospital. There is a lot of patient pressure here. There is only one ambulance. It can't handle the pressure of the patients. The patients are struggling.
Chairman Rana expressed his indignation saying that the government would not buy ambulances and would not allow them to operate even those bought with the sweat of the people. "We need an ambulance because the Nepalis living there told us that they need help in the hospital. They bought the ambulance with their hard-earned money," he said, "but we are not able to use it."
According to him, if the government does not give customs exemption, the ambulance will have to pay only Rs 8 million in customs. Other ambulance operators have also demanded that the government should immediately create a conducive environment for the ambulance of this model to enter Nepal.
According to an ambulance dealer, four more ambulances of the said model are in the process of being brought to Nepal. However, the government has stopped that too.
"The ambulance we are going to bring is from a world-famous Mercedes-Bench engine," he said.
This is what the municipality says
Janak Raj Poudel, mayor of Baglung Municipality, says that arrangements have been made to bring customs exemption when ambulances are brought abroad. "I have already given permission to the hospital to bring the ambulance to all the agencies including the customs department by issuing documents," he said.
According to him, a hearse worth Rs 1.6 million has also been ordered for the hospital. "There is a procedure to operate an ambulance under the chairmanship of CDIA. If the procedure is in accordance with the criteria, the ambulance can be brought here and operated on.
