Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

The adage necessity is the mother of invention holds true for Tariq Ahmad Patloo, who struggles to reach the shore of Dal lake foe medical help when he was sick with Covid infection, prompted him to convert his own Shikara into a water ambulance.

Patloo’s  efforts for not letting anyone living inside the main Lake of Srinagar city suffer was mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his latest Man ki baat episode.  

Paltoo was happy to get appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who praised his efforts of running a floating ambulance service for the thousands of people living in Dal Lake amid COVID-19 pandemic.

“I  am extremely grateful to PM Modi Ji for mentioning my efforts. The appreciation from him is a great honour and means a lot to me. I hope the mention of my work in the programme will benefit my community who face a lot of problems during the ongoing pandemic,” he said.

While mentioning Patloo and his floating ambulance PM Modi said that there are many people in our country who have come forward and worked to help the doctors and he has come to know about one such attempt from Srinagar.

“Here a Boat Ambulance service was started at Dal Lake. This service was started by Tariq Ahmad Patloo of Srinagar, who is a Houseboat Owner. He himself has also fought the battle with COVID-19 and this inspired him to start the Ambulance Service,” said PM Modi.

The PM added that a campaign is also underway to make people aware of this ambulance, and continuous announcements from the ambulance are also being made by him. “The effort is that people should wear a mask and undertake other necessary precautions too, he said.

Patloo, who contracted the coronavirus during the first COVID-19 wave in August last year faced a lot of difficulties in reaching the hospital from Dal waters as no boatman was ready to give a ride to a man with an infectious disease.

After quarantining himself in the initial days his health deteriorated. Finally, he was shifted to SMHS Hospital for treatment.

“I felt helpless in reaching the shore of Dal Lake and to further reach the hospital. It was a difficult time for me and my family,” he recalled.

This incident etched in his mind for good as he decided to make a boat ambulance to ferry people who might need it during Covid illness or any other.

“While recovering at a bed in the hospital I kept thinking about how to make a floating ambulance for all the Dal dwellers that are in need of this kind of facility,” he said.

Though he didn’t blame anyone as people were scared to come in contact with an infected person, but the incident gave him a lifelong lesson to help people who are in dire need during the health crisis.

After getting discharged from the hospital, Patloo’s sole objective was to design a floating ambulance for which he got some help from an NGO providing him equipment.

Patloo’s floating ambulance is equipped with an oxygen concentrator, oxygen cylinder, first aid, stretcher, wheelchair, BP set, and PPE kits.

“I have a dream to do something big for my community who has suffered a lot in the past three decades. Now, my next step is to make a fire service boat for the people living in Dal Lake,” Patloo said.