Kashmir Man Fights COVID-19 Stigma by Devising Floating Ambulance

Tariq Ahmad Patloo, a boatman from Srinagar has devised a special floating ambulance to ferry people in need.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/ANI)

Tariq Ahmad Patloo, a boatman from Kashmir, recently devised a 'floating ambulance' that he operated in Dal Lake to fight the stigma attached to COVID-19.

His ambulance has provisions such as PPE kits, wheelchairs, and stretchers and helps ferry people through Srinagar's Dal Lake and get the medical treatment that they need.

"Considering the situation at hospitals and homes due to rising cases, I've set up this facility for people, which has PPE kits, stretchers & wheelchair," he said in a statement to ANI.

Tariq had himself contracted COVID-19 in August last year, and he said that the stigma he faced at that time inspired him to come up with this idea considering how the second wave has made things much worse for people all over the country.

His efforts have helped a lot of people in Srinagar, and it is only through people like him that step up when needed the most that India is able to cope with a crisis of this degree.

(With inputs from News18).