Daily Times

Emergency Services Department, Punjab, Secretary Dr Rizwan Naseer has expressed his concern over an increasing number of road accidents and the loss of 43 lives in these crashes in Punjab during Eid holidays.

He expressed these views while a chairing virtual meeting with all Divisional & District Emergency Officers, held at Emergency Services Headquarters, Thoker Niaz Baig, Lahore. Dr Rizwan Naseer urged all stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and civil society to sensitize their loved ones to reduce motorbike speed and adopt an extreme left lane to prevent crashes and loss of lives. He also appreciated rescuers who sacrificed their Eid leave to provide timely emergency services to the citizens of Punjab.

He said that the rescuers showed great commitment and dedication to their duty during Eid holidays and played a crucial role in saving lives and providing timely assistance to emergency victims. He stated that Rescue 1122 Emergency Ambulance, Rescue and Fire Services and Motorbike Rescue Service responded to 27,254 emergencies in all districts of Punjab during four Eid holidays.

The head of the Provincial Monitoring Cell said that rescuers had been deployed at strategic sites during the Eid holidays to ensure prompt response to all emergencies in all Districts and Tehsils of Punjab. He briefed that Rescue 1122 had responded to emergencies in Punjab during Eid holidays out of which 7,636 were road traffic crashes with 43 deaths, 16,398 medical emergencies with 543 deaths, 693 crime incidents, 505 fire emergencies, 527 delivery emergencies, 524 falls & slipping cases, 111 animal rescue, and 1481 miscellaneous emergencies operations were performed. The Chair was informed that the highest number of emergencies occurred in Lahore with 3149 emergencies, followed by Faisalabad with 1674 emergencies, Multan with 1342 emergencies, Gujranwala with 1264 emergencies and Bahawalpur with 1223 emergencies and the lowest number of 268 emergencies in Chakwal.

After a detailed review of the emergency data, Dr Rizwan requested motorbike riders to adopt road safety measures and reduce their speed limit up to 50Km/h. They should follow the traffic laws and always drive in the extreme left lane, he added. He appealed to parents that they should never allow their underage children to drive a motorbike or a car. Dr Rizwan further emphasized that behavioural change is required to promote safety and prevention from emergencies. He said that people should join hands with the rescue service in saving lives and promoting safety.