Delhi govt to introduce ‘Good Samaritan’ monetary incentive policy
The government will also form a team of experts to provide legal advice to the good Samaritans. A helpline number for the same will be launched.
The Delhi government will introduce a ‘Good Samaritan Policy’ in the cabinet soon, health minister Satyendar Jain said, on Thursday. Under the scheme, monetary incentive will be given to people who help accident victims.
The decision was taken after a road accident victim in Subhash Nagar bled to death because no one helped him.
“People are unwilling to help, mainly because they are scared they will land in trouble or be harassed by the police. But there is a Supreme Court order which states that a person who helps an accident victim will not be questioned or harassed. We will also launch an incentive scheme where auto drivers, taxi drivers and others will be compensated for their effort, time and any cleaning of the vehicle that they might have to do,” Jain said.
The compensation amount is yet to be decided, he added.
The government will also form a team of experts to provide legal advice to the good Samaritans. A helpline number for the same will also be launched.
Under the same scheme, the AAP government had in April, decided to provide basic life support training to all auto-rickshaw drivers in the city. The idea was to have help at hand in case of a road accident.
“The time it takes for the a road accident victim to reach a hospital will be cut down by half as an ambulance will not have to travel from the hospital to the site of accident and back. Also, in places like Trilokpuri which have narrow lanes, auto-rickshaws will be able to reach victims faster than an ambulance,” said Dr Tarun Seem, Delhi’s health secretary.
First aid kits will also be given to every licence-holding auto-rickshaw driver after a five-hour training session.
There are 82,000 auto-rickshaws in Delhi. The government has a fleet of 210 ambulances under the Centralised Accident & Trauma Services (CATS), with another 55 to be added soon.
According to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, Delhi has the highest number of fatal road accidents in India, with an average of five people losing their lives daily.