West Bengal’s first female ambulance driver, Selina Begum, has been rewarded for her service to Covid-19 patients since the start of the pandemic last year.
Selina Begum, who ferries Coronavirus patients in North Dinajpur district of north Bengal, received a cheque of Rs 50,000 from Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani last week. This is the second cheque that she received from the newly-elected MLA who had also honoured her with the monetary reward last year for being a ‘corona warrior’.
Selina, an MA degree holder in Bengali, started driving an ambulance in 2016 after getting trained under a state government’s self-help program.
She usually transported pregnant women to and from hospitals. But when pandemic struck in March 2020 and many of the ambulance drivers hesitated helping Covid-19 patients fearing infection, Selina rose to the occasion and dedicated her ambulance for coronavirus infected patients.
Her service became so popular that she used to appear with her ambulance soon after being dialled by families of Covid patients. However, knowing the dangers of her job, Selina decided to temporarily live in a small room at the Hemtabad Health Center, in order to keep her family safe.
“The way Selina is serving the people against Corona is unparalleled. We can win it only if some more people like Selina come forward,” said the Raiganj MLA after handing over the Rs 50,000 cheque to her.
Rahul Biswas, a doctor at the Hemtabad Health Center, said Selina is the first female ambulance driver in the state. Thanking the MLA for supporting her, the doctor said this recognition will also encourage other people to come forward.
The 27-year-old’s father is into agriculture and barely manages to run the family. Selina earns around Rs 7,000-8,000 a month. She said the last cheque she got from Krishna was spent on her father’s treatment. Unfortunately, this time both of her parents are ill and she will use this money too on their treatment.
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