Another 40 ambulances arrive as gifts from India

Forty more ambulances, as gifts from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, arrived in Bangladesh through Benapole land port on Thursday morning, reports UNB.

Benapole Customs House additional commissioner Neyamul Islam said that the 40 ambulances entered Bangladesh in the morning from the Petrapole border on the Indian side.

"Necessary paperwork is underway to get the clearance done. Once complete, the ambulances will leave for Dhaka later in the day," he said.

According to the Indian High Commission, prime minister Modi announced the gift of 109 ambulances to Bangladesh during his state visit on 26-27 March to help bolster healthcare, especially in the shared effort to contain the Covid pandemic.

All the ambulances have ventilation support, said sources.

With this, so far 71 ambulances have arrived in Bangladesh. The remaining are expected to arrive by mid-September.

The first ambulance arrived on 21 March while 30 more ambulances arrived on 7 August, and 40 on Thursday.