Banihal: The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway between Ramban and Banihal is prone to tragic traffic accidents, and the volunteers of Banihal Volunteers, an NGO, are in the forefront of rescue and relief activities like other Quick Response Teams (QRTs) of Ramban district.
Charity Banihal’s Do-Gooders Accidents on the road or other disasters seldom deter volunteers from joining rescue and relief activities to aid those in need.
With public donations, the Banihal Volunteers were able to purchase an ambulance to speedily transport wounded people from the scene of traffic accidents to a medical facility.
There are more than a hundred Ramban district volunteers assisting drivers.
Banihal Volunteers president Idrees Ahmad Wani has said that his group would not back down from its rescue mission. He said, “We appealed to the public some two years back for financial help to purchase an ambulance, and after receiving Rs 369000 from public donation we purchased a second hand ambulance from Punjab.”
He claimed the ambulance will be provided at no cost to low-income people.
In “today’s materialistic world there are very few people who work for the society,” local Banihal social worker Manzoor Ahmad Kamgar stated, but the volunteers and civic QRTs of Ramban district are useful for needy people of all religions, castes, and creeds.
As he put it, “these brave volunteers save lives of accidental victims in the deep trenches and gorges along the highway and in the water of river Chenab and Nallah Bishlari.” This praise was reserved for the volunteers of Ramban, Ramsoo, Makarkoot, and Banihal.
“Such a willingness to engage in rescue efforts is really unusual, even at JKUT. In his opinion, “they are the unsung heroes of our society,” Kamgar said.
More than a hundred volunteers from civil QRT Ramban, QRT Ramsoo, Himaliyan QRT Makarkoot, Indian Red Cross Banihal, Banihal Volunteers, Nowgam volunteers, and others are working for free “and without any religious discrimination in Ramban district.” Constantly on the go, they are there for motorists who have been in accidents.
At annual events held on the district and tehsil levels, the administration regularly recognises and thanks these volunteer teams for their lifesaving efforts by presenting them with prizes and certificates of gratitude.
