Jharkhand will have a dedicated air ambulance service of its own from Friday.

Jharkhand civil aviation department has tied up with Redbird Airways Private Limited to provide 24x7 air ambulance services to almost all the major health centres of the country from the capital Ranchi and six other cities of the state.

“We had worked on this project following the directive of the chief minister and we are happy to roll out the services on Friday from the state hangar at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi. The costs are reasonable and there would be no hidden costs.

"We have fixed the rate keeping in view the usual air ambulance charges to different cities and tried to keep it to the minimum from the usual fares,” said Jharkhand civil aviation department director (operations) captain S.P. Sinha.

Elucidating his point, the official said that a usual air ambulance service between Ranchi and Delhi can cost in excess of Rs 6.25 lakh while they are providing it at only Rs 5 lakh.

“We have selected the firm after a lot of thought. It is one of the pioneers in offering air ambulance service and has a team of specialist doctors, nurses and paramedics in the ambulance.

"The choppers are equipped with advanced medical facilities and life support systems,” said Sinha.

“The service will be available not only from Ranchi but also from the airstrips of Deoghar, Dumka, Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Jamshedpur,” Sinha added.

The service from Ranchi and any of the six cities of Jharkhand to Mumbai would cost Rs 7 lakh, to Chennai it would cost Rs 8 lakh, to Calcutta Rs 3 lakh, to Hyderabad Rs 7 lakh, to Banaras Rs 3.3 lakh, to Lucknow Rs 5 lakh and to Tirupati Rs 8 lakh.

“Those patient relatives who want to avail air ambulance facilities for other places which are not on the list can also take the services, for example to Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

"However, then this service will be available at Rs 1.10 lakh per hour,” said a communique issued by the state public relation department.

The air ambulance will be ready within two hours of applying for the service.

The flight can also be rescheduled, provided the service of any other applicant is not affected by it.

One can book an air ambulance by calling the numbers — 82105 94073 and 0651 4665515 — round the clock.

Chief minister Hemant Soren, while addressing a critical care conference at Ranchi in January this year, had announced an air ambulance facility at government rates for taking patients to advanced medical care centres in other parts of the country.

The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) welcomed the announcement.

"It is a welcome decision. Now one would not have to wait for hours waiting for an air ambulance in the state," said FJCCI president Kishore Mantri.