Jharkhand Govt. Launches Good Samaritan Policy
In a bid to ensure timely help and save lives, the Jharkhand government approved a proposal to provide monetary reward to people who take road accident victims to the hospital.
In 2020, Jharkhand had recorded 3,366 road accidents and 2,294 deaths. So in a bid to ensure timely help and save lives, the Jharkhand government approved a proposal to provide monetary reward to the people who take road accident victims to the nearest medical facility. According to India Today, the state government under its new 'Good Samaritan Policy' has announced a reward of ?2,000 for a single-help who carries the victim to the hospital during the crucial golden hour i.e within an hour of an accident. It further reported that ?2,000 each will be provided if two persons help carry the victim for medical treatment. If more than two persons help the victims, they would be entitled to a reward of ?5,000 which will be distributed amongst them equally.
In most cases, the onlookers avoid helping the accident victims as they fear interrogation and hassles of the court-room. Hence, this move would motivate people to step up and help save lives. To make things simpler, the policy has a few provisions like the identity of the 'Samaritan' will not be disclosed. However, he would be summoned to the police station to know the details but will not be subjected to any prolonged investigation. The ones cooperating with the police investigation will also be felicitated with a cash reward.
The eye-witness will only be called in the court if required and the efforts will be not to bother them unnecessarily. The government thinks that the announcement of a cash reward would help in taking the victims would be sent by commuter 'friends' to the hospitals on time.
