The Punjab Government is being applauded on social media for being responsive in the face of an accident, mere moments after following a tweet by a citizen.
Nighat Daad, a Pakistani lawyer and internet activist, came across a severe accident while coming from Faisalabad to Lahore. Her first response was of calling 1122, the hotline for rescue services, but she was informed that all the emergency ambulances are busy and the injured will have to wait.
Daad, instead of waiting, decided to try another way and called out the Government of Punjab on their official handle on Twitter:
.@GovtOfPunjab Thr is a severe accident on GT Road near Bhikhi Shiekhupura, 1122 Shiekupura have no ambulances ATM. Injured r waiting 4 help
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) September 15, 2016
She also followed up with another tweet with details of the injured, which included women and children as well.
Injured include women and children, I have called 1122, they have no emergency support ATM. Please look into this.
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) September 15, 2016
After just 10 minutes of sending out the first tweet, she got a reply from Punjab Government.
thank you for informing us. It has been conveyed to rescue team and DCO Sheikhupura.
— Punjab 2013-18 (@Punjab13to18) September 15, 2016
Another 45 minutes later, the Punjab Government sent out another tweet along with the information about the incident. According to it, only two of the four people in the accident were injured.
The injured had been taken to DHQ hospital, treated and then released.
out of four people who faced the accident, two were injured. They were taken to nearby DHQ hospital, treated & released.
— Punjab 2013-18 (@Punjab13to18) September 15, 2016
They even attached a screenshot from what seems like a WhatsApp conversation, providing the details of the injured and their injuries. All of the four people involved were in stable condition.
FYI: pic.twitter.com/iF5TlOecSG
— Punjab 2013-18 (@Punjab13to18) September 15, 2016
Impressed, Nighat Daad herself shared the whole interaction on her social media profile. It has since attracted hundreds of likes and shares.
This incident highlights just how social media can be used for good, even by official circles. In the 21st century, new media like social networks can help individuals and organizations get the word out, become first responders, and even avert a tragedy.
Image — NHA
Wah!! Well Done
They believe in piri faqiri so they can do it.
Real change from roots….love
ahan , well done <3
Strange that they’re not available on a phone call but on twitter. Seems like people know a days being found kind on social media rather thn a phone call.
Govt is working
Dont say that too lound.
Otherwise you might be accused of being a PML-N supporter or worse.
Severe accident hua, 4 main se 2 log zakhmi hue and 45 minutes main hospital bhi pohanchae gaye treatment bhi pora hua aur release bhi hogaye… ?
And mind you yeh SEVERE accident tha, jis main injured khud se hospital tak nahi ja sakte they aur ambulance ka wait kar rahe they… Aur treatment just 30-40 minutes main ho bhi gaya aur release bhi hogaye :-)
Story kuch jami nahi…
Nice response by miss daad -thankfully it looks like it was not a severe accident – she just hyped it up a little so that help reaches quickly. Still good to know that injured are stable.
seems some fix and pre-plan activity… :D
Hello, there! My conspiracy theorist fellow! :)
well said, sound interesting
People at rescue services are not baboons to not take action in response of a distress call if resources are available. What I think happened is that once the issue was highlighted on social media they probably diverted ambulances (rushing to other emergencies) towards stated accident hence other emergency weren’t responded.
Availability of 1122 ambulances have been a issue in recent years mostly because of increasing population in concentrated areas but the fitness of vehicles have also been an issue ever since Mercedes ambulances were replaced by Chinese ones. A poor decision by CM Sharif among many good ones.
Yes I’m a PTI supporter and no I’m not bashing CM for the sake of bashing him as I respect alot of his decision.
Propaganda
after all this I’m just waiting for the respond of DCO, why there was no ambulance when she called 1122 ???
because there are limited ambulances and they were busy I am sure you would understand that there cannot be an unlimited number of ambulances.
Long live Punjab
God bless them.
Well Done Punjab Government
Same here. Sent image to MWMC on facebook before sleep. My problem was solved before i woke up.
That is good and people should have the right to be heard and counted for their issues.