Amaravati, Jul 3 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday flagged off 146 new ambulances to replace old ones under the government-run 108 free ambulance service.

The new ambulances procured at a cost of Rs 35 crore will replace the old ones which have already clocked more than 2.5 lakh km distance and regularly suffer repairs.

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Aimed at extending healthcare services to every poor person in the state, the new vehicles raise the number of 108 ambulance vehicles fleet to 768 across Andhra.

The state government is spending Rs 189 crore per annum to operate these ambulances, said a statement.

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Incidentally, there were only 531 ambulances in 2019, of which only 336 were in operable condition.

The 108 ambulance service was first introduced during former chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's tenure in the southern state.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)