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HELP...WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST
- This is the motto of the Bangalore based service oriented organization ACCIDENT RELIEF
CARE (ARC). Founded by Dr. Ajaysingh the organization's main objective is to make Bangalore a fatality free
zone. ARC is a 24 hour service with a dedicated aim to serve its members round the
clock.
On receiving a distress call the ARC network
immediately gets into action and sends an ambulance to the spot of accident and the victim is taken to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment.
The ARC office scans through the medical history of the victim and informs the hospital to keep all the emergency services
ready. The organization also covers all the medical expenses from the time of admission to the hospital to the time of
discharge. I spoke to the founder of arc Dr Ajay Singh.
OKC: Tell us about your organization.
Dr. Ajay :As we all know Bangalore is the fastest growing city in
Asia. The number of vehicles are increasing alarmingly. As the number of vehicles have increased accidents on Bangalore roads have also
increased. Hence Bangalore has become a high fatality zone. I
decided to start an ambulance service initially. Then i decided that
I must not only help the patients reach the hospital in time but also help them to pay the medical
expenses. My friends in the insurance sector gave me the information about the personal accident
policies. That is when I decided to start ARC.
OKC: Wasn't it difficult for you to convince people to enroll as members initially?
Dr. Ajay :It was indeed difficult initially. In October 2000 we started out with a small office and a staff of five
people. We had only one ambulance then. It took us three months to enroll thousand
members. Without any publicity we achieved this. The credit must go to all my marketing
executives. Today we get 1000 members every three days. Our employee strength has grown to
ninety. 40 of them are marketing executives. We also have shifted to a bigger office on Cunningham Road.
OKC: What are the services you provide to your members?
Dr. Ajay :Every ARC member will be provided with a membership
card. It will have the membership number, blood group of the
person, residential address and emergency contact number. ARC
is affiliated to major hospitals across the city to provide its members with immediate post accident
care. We pay the medical expenses of the patient for up
to
Rs.100000. Recently an ARC member Puttaraju who sustained multiple head injury was paid
Rs.100000.
OKC :Don't you think other cities in Karnataka need an organization like ARC?
Dr. Ajay :Yes, I think all major cities in Karnataka also must have an organization like
ARC. We plan to start our service in Gulbarga and Mysore this
year. Our long term plans also include Mumbai and Pune. We also plan to identify some accident prone zones in Bangalore City and start a free road accident
service. The time taken to shift the patient from the accident spot to the hospital is vital.
OKC :What do you think is the reason for the alarming increase in the number of accidents each year?
Dr. Ajay :The city's traffic management system is very poor. like
Mumbai there is no mass transport system like a metro rail. People are forced to go by
their private vehicles. Hence number of two wheelers and cars are
huge. Traffic sense among people here is very bad. During nights people drink and
drive. All these things have deteriorated the situation. Traffic
rules must be much stricter. Those who break the rules must be fined heavily.
OKC : Tell us about yourself and your family.
Dr. Ajay : I was born in Gulbarga. We shifted to Bangalore when my father Dharam Singh became a
minister. I studied in Poorna Pragnya School and MES College.
I did my MBBS from MS Ramaiah Medical College. A year later
I started ARC.
OKC : What are your future plans?
Dr. Ajay :As I said earlier we would like to expand to other cities in
Karnataka. Our motto is to save people's lives. Our dedicated network will work hard to
achieve this. I also believe that all major cities in India must have a service oriented organization like
ARC. May be in the next five years we will be serving people all across
India.
OKC :We wish you all the best Dr Ajay, thanks for talking to OKC.
Dr. Ajay :It was a pleasure talking to you thank you.
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