Gorai village gets its first 108 ambulance, but there’s no bridge to cut travel time to hospital

Pedestrians on the Borivli side of the creek. Pic/Satej Shinde

Some Gorai residents have expressed regret over their opposition to a bridge that would have eliminated the need to travel 13.54 km to the nearest hospital at Mira Road, via road. The change of heart occurred after locals' long-standing demand for a 24x7 108 ambulance service had been fulfilled and the issues of time and distance became apparent.

Though both Borivli and Gorai fall under R-Central ward, they are divided by a creek. Gorai village is situated approximately 3.8 km from the western bank of the water body and a bridge had been proposed to span the 500-metre gap. From the mainland, a motorist must travel from Mira Road via Uttan and Dongri to reach Gorai while ferry services can take one there from Borivli, as well as to Manori from Marve. Had the bridge existed, Gorai villagers would have to travel only 4.9 km from their hamlet to reach a hospital in Borivli.

The 108 ambulance has been permanently stationed at the Gorai village health clinic. Pic/A Local Resident

Rossi Dsouza, Gorai Gaothan Panchayat (GPP) sarpanch, said, "Earlier, ambulances used to take a long time to reach here. Now that a 108 ambulance has been stationed 24x7 with a doctor, primary medical attention can be provided to individuals in a shorter span of time."

He added, "The population of Gorai and Culvem villages is approximately 15,000. The ambulance service will prove to be beneficial for everyone, including Manori residents."

An aerial view of the Gorai creek. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Ceon Creado, a local auto driver, said, "Earlier, before the ambulance was stationed here, we had to travel approximately 16 km, if we consider the distance from the interiors, to reach a nearby hospital in Mira-Bhayandar. There have been cases where women in labour delivered their babies in autos en route to hospitals. In some instances, individuals in emergency situations have died while being transported hospitals. In such cases, our first thought would be to ferry the individual to the nearest hospital, but a trip that should take 10 to 15 minutes takes almost an hour or sometimes even longer. That being said, this ambulance will prove a boon for the village."

Sandhya Nandedkar, assistant municipal commissioner, R Central ward, said, "The ambulance service was started in January on January 1 or 2. The service is provided by the state government but the BMC [Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation] has to inform it when it is required at specific places. We had put forth the proposal in this regard based on residents' demands. The civic-run clinic in Gorai village sees approximately 50 patients per day on an average."

108 ambulance has been permanently stationed at the health clinic

Nandedkar said, "A bridge was proposed between the two ends of the jetty at Gorai creek, but locals opposed it. If this existed today, the current travel time and distance would have been significantly reduced."

Dsouza said, "Had the bridge been built, the travel time would have been reduced and civic services would reach Gorai faster." Creado said that while there was doubt that the bridge would have proven a timesaver, "there are always two sides of a coin". "If the bridge were constructed, the safety which we enjoy would diminish. Locals sometimes leave their keys inside their vehicles overnight but no one attempts to touch them. Now, if the bridge were built and outsiders started coming in at any point of time, we do not know what type of people would come here. I do not mean that everyone who would come here would have bad intentions, but not all the people would have good intentions. We do not want our safety to be compromised. The crime rate is low but we cannot guarantee this if outsiders get 24x7 access via this bridge. The structure also has an environmental impact. The construction of the bridge would mean that the road towards the Gorai end would be widened which would also reduce the mangrove cover."

13.54 KM
Distance to the closest hospital with basic facilities currently in Mira Road

4.9 KM
Distance to a similar hospital in Borivli that can be access

ed if there was a creek bridge

Graphic/Yogesh Jain