Police green corridor helps transfer liver from IGI to institute in 11 mins flat

Once again, Delhi Traffic Police created a ‘green corridor’ for an ambulance to carry a part of a human liver from the Indira Gandhi International Terminal 3 Airport to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for a live organ transfer on Wednesday.

However, several drivers in Delhi, as usual, showed utter disrespect for one’s right to way and acted as obstruction despite the ambulance using an <g data-gr-id="28">on-emergency</g> duty siren and traffic cops deployed in the route throughout. 

With the help of a camera attached to the <g data-gr-id="35">dash board</g> of the ambulance, as many as four such obstructing vehicles were tracked by Wednesday afternoon. After another round of monitoring, more defaulters were likely to be tracked, said <g data-gr-id="36">Muktesh</g> Chander, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

The green corridor enabled the piece of the organ — with its donation source in Lucknow — to reach the hospital in exactly 11 minutes and 45 seconds amid <g data-gr-id="34">heavy</g> traffic in South Delhi. 

The corridor was channelled through Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road, Ryan International School, Masoodpur intersection and Fortis Hospital on Vasant Kunj Road.

Almost all four vehicles allegedly obstructing the ambulance were spotted at the Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road, after which the rest of the way was reported to be smooth. The violators of the law will be sent <g data-gr-id="42">chalans</g> at their addresses and they may have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 2,000, which is the maximum penalty for blocking the way of an emergency vehicle, said Chander.  

It was exactly at 3.29 pm, the green corridor was activated and by 3.41 pm the ambulance carrying the organ had covered the nearly 11 km distance, which would otherwise have taken around 25 minutes without the facility. 

In a green corridor service, the traffic signals on the emergency vehicle’s route turn green whenever the vehicle approaches an intersection. However, this facility can be taken advantage of by other drivers, if not monitored properly, leading to choking of the road for the concerned emergency vehicle.

“We received a call from the hospital and the service was requested. Traffic Police ensured that there were no obstructions or traffic jams throughout the route. We are happy to contribute in the noble cause of saving a life,” Chander added.