mid-day investigation: Private ambulances in Mumbai triple their rates with increasing load of Covid-19 deaths

With the increasing load of cases hospitalisations and deaths due to Covid19 private ambulance services have been operating at three to four times the normal prices a midday investigation has found Those who provide material for final rites too have also tripled their rates Posing as relatives of Covid19 deceased midday spoke to ambulance service providers in the city for a ground report While the operators are charging anything between Rs 3000 and Rs 6000 the charges fixed by the RTO range from Rs 700 to Rs 1190 for various models of vehicles The prices are for a distance of 25 kmDistraught relatives of Covid19 patients often donrsquot bargain with operators and agree to pay what they demand File picService providers were also found offering lsquopackagesrsquo including ambulance services PPE kits carrying the body and material for rituals Some of the ambulance operators have tied up with sellers of the ritual material Operators in south Mumbai refused to give their names but offered visiting cards with relevant contact numbers With government and civic services already overburdened people have little choice but to turn to private operatorsBhagwati hospital DahisarThe ambulance service here costs Rs 5500 including final rites kit for a distance of 56 km Dahisar to Dahanukarwadi Smashan Bhoomi in Kandivli The service is managed by ambulance driver Deepak Shah using an ambulance of Yedoba Janseva SansthaDeepak Shahmidday approached Shah outside Bhagwati hospital at 1 pm on Wednesday posing as relatives of a Covid19 patient who died at Bhagwati hospital ldquoWe will charge Rs 5500 Workers will wear PPE kits The ambulance will have two staffers to handle the bodyrdquo Shah saidWhen midday asked about the high rates Shah said ldquoWe would also be at risk PPEs are costly We will also carry the body till the crematorium You donrsquot have to touch the body we will take all the riskrdquoRs 5500Price quoted for 56 kmShatabdi hospital KandivliThe ambulance provider here quoted Rs 3500 for 2 km Shatabdi hospital to Dahanukarwadi Smashan Bhoomi The service is run by an MNS union leader VishalSeller of final rites material right MNS union leader Vishal who manages the ambulances outside Shatabdi hospitalVishal told midday ldquoWe have 1520 ambulances operating under the union We assign work in turns so that everyone gets to earn The charges are Rs 3500 the crematorium is 10 minutes away The ambulance staff will wear PPE kits and do all the workrdquoAfter bargaining Vishal agreed to charge Rs 3000 He also introduced midday to a man who did not identify himself selling final rites kits ldquoYou will get two bamboos chatai rope two earthen pots kurmura and other things needed for final rites You donrsquot have to touch the body we will do it along with the ambulance staffrdquoRs 3500Price quoted for 2 kmSion hospitalGanesh Ambulance amp Hearse Service near Sion hospital quoted Rs 3000 for a distance of 7 km BKC to Shivaji ParkThe operator of Ganesh Ambulance amp Hearse Servicemidday approached the ambulance operator and enquired about the charges to transport a body from the BKC Jumbo Covid19 Centre to Shivaji Park The operator handed midday a visiting card asked about when the service is required and quoted Rs 3000 After bargaining the operator agreed to reduce the charge by Rs 500ldquoThe cost has increased as we have to sanitise the ambulance after every assignment This adds to the cost I cannot reduce the cost further The additional cost is for the risk taken by my employees in ferrying the bodies They donrsquot have insurance or help from the hospital or governmentrdquo the operator saidRs 3000Price quoted for 7 kmCooper hospital Vile ParleHere the ambulance provider quoted Rs 3500 for a 2km distance Cooper hospital to Andheri East Smashan Bhoomi plus a waiting charge of Rs 500hour Posing as a relative of a Covid19 deceased midday approached Cardiac Ambulance service inside Cooper hospitalAmbulance operator ChaandThe operator of the service who identified himself as only Chaand said ldquoThere is a waiting period at the smashan bhoomiCardiac Ambulance service inside Cooper hospitalTaking the body from the hospital to the crematorium will cost Rs 3500 The waiting period will cost you extra mdash Rs 500hourrdquo When midday informed Chaand that the waiting period was five hours he quote Rs 2500 for the sameRs 3500Price quoted for 2 kmJJ hospital NagpadaSonu Ambulance service provider outside JJ hospital quoted Rs 3200 for a 3 km distance Kasturba hospital to Worli midday posed as the relative of a deceased Covid19 patient at Kasturba hospitalThe operator of Sonu AmbulanceIn Sonu Ambulancersquos service the operator said there would be a team of four men accompanying the deceased to the crematorium ldquoYou donrsquot have to handle the body everything will be handled by my staff We normally charge Rs 500 for each of the staff members Since you have approached me their cost would be Rs 300 Rest of the cost would be for the ambulancerdquo said the ambulance operatorWhen asked if the staff would wear PPE kits the operator said ldquoThey are fearless they donrsquot wish to wear the kits though I always keep them in the ambulance If I ask them to wear PPE kits they said they are anyway dealing with Covid19 patients day in and day out and are likely to get infected Forget PPE kits they donrsquot even wear glovesrdquoThe operator suggested that the family follow the ambulance in a taxi and that they can watch the rituals from a distance He asked for the payment first before sending the ambulanceWhen this reporter was leaving from the spot another ambulance came running ldquoAre you looking for an ambulance How much did he Sonu Ambulance quoterdquo When midday told him of the price the man said ldquoI can offer my ambulance with similar services for Rs 2500rdquo the man said before giving his visiting card and leavingRs 3200Price quoted for 3 kmHinduja hospital MahimAmbulance service provider Patil Ambulance quoted Rs 3000 for a distance of 7 km BKC to Sion and a waiting charge of Rs 500hour The waiting period at the crematoriums usually goes up to four to five hoursPatil Ambulancersquos vehicle near Sion hospitalThe operator of Patil Ambulance said that there are long queues at crematoriums Giving a break up of the cost the operator said ldquoThe driverrsquos share is Rs 500 for the driver the attendantrsquos share is Rs 500 and Rs 250 for each of their PPE kits Rest of the money is for the ambulancerdquoThe operator of Patil AmbulanceThe operator also added that the ambulance would wait for only 30 minutes outside the hospital before the hourly waiting charges would start Handing midday a visiting card the operator said to call him only a few minutes before the body is released from the hospitalRs 3000Price quoted for 7 kmMaterials for rituals cost three times the preCovid19 priceAsifrsquos stall for final rites materialOutside Cooper hospital midday spoke to the proprietor of Shakti Pooja Antvidhi shop which was selling final rites kits The seller named Asif quoted the price of each kit at Rs 1800 and another Rs 400 for each bottle of gheeAsif said ldquoRs 1800 for a kit is reasonable I will give you chaddar bamboos gulab Jal chatai cloth to wrap the body kunku two earthen pots and other thingsrdquo During preCovid19 times such kits would cost only Rs 500600VoicesSunita Bheda Bhayandar residentlsquoMy Covid19 infected father was admitted to Chirayu Superspeciality Hospital in Mira Road The doctors asked us to shift him to a Covid19 centre so we decided to go to SevenHills Hospital The ambulance service referred to us charged Rs 4000 People going through tough times donrsquot think of bargaining and operators take advantage of the situationrsquoChetan Patel Malad residentlsquoI was charged Rs 3000 for less than 1 km We had to shift my sisterinlaw from Ganesha hospital Borivli to Sanjeevani hospital Malad In another instance we had to shift her from Karuna hospital Borivli to Sanjeevani The ambulance operator charged Rs 6000 for 25 km We are able to manage during a crisis but what about people with no incomes Theyrsquod die payingrsquoPrafful Sarda PunersquoI paid Rs 3500 to the ambulance of the hospital Ruby Hall clinic to go from Koregaon park in Pune to the hospital which is a distance of less than 1 km My cousin had tested positive and needed immediate hospitalisation we had no other choice Despite being a charitable hospital they are charging such high ratesrsquoRs 700Lower limit of govtapproved rate for ambulances 25kmRs 1190Upper limit of govtapproved rate for ambulances 25km