Cashless Treatment Facility for Highway Accident Victims in Uttarakhand

Union Minister Ajay Tamta announced a cashless treatment facility for accident victims on Uttarakhand highways. Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana, eligible victims receive up to Rs 1.5 lakh in treatment for up to seven days. The initiative follows a tragic bus accident in Almora.

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Ajay Tamta, announced on Wednesday that people injured in accidents on national highways in Uttarakhand will soon have access to a cashless treatment facility through empanelled hospitals.

The service is part of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), offering eligible victims cashless treatment up to Rs 1.5 lakh for a maximum of seven days after an accident. Tamta's announcement comes in the wake of a catastrophic bus accident in Uttarakhand's Almora.

The bus incident, which occurred on Monday, resulted in at least 36 fatalities and injured 27 others, after it plunged into a gorge. Minister Tamta mentioned that the scheme began as a pilot project in August in Assam and Chandigarh and will soon expand nationwide, also covering state highways. The ministry has issued guidelines to states and is implementing measures to prevent highway accidents.

(With inputs from agencies.)