Jaipur: A day after 104 ambulances (Janani Express) stopped operations following the expiry of contract of the private firm, the health dept Thursday redirected calls from 104 ambulance service to the 108 ambulance service. This delay has severely affected pregnant women requiring transport. As operations of all 600 Janani Express ambulances came to a halt, the department issued directions to ensure smooth provision of transportation facilities to mother and child under Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram. “It is directed to all the chief medical health officers to ensure that services are provided through 108 emergency ambulances for providing smooth transportation facilities to mother and child in urgent cases,” said a senior official. The delay in the tender process happened as the current 104 ambulance operating company, Modern Emergency Services, expressed willingness to extend the contract by six months, which expired on Dec 10, 2025, the official said. He said, “We examined the request for extending the tenure of the firm by six months, but we found that under the Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2012, it was not legally possible. Following this, we invited a fresh tender on Nov 26, 2025.” According to an official, the process for finalising the firm is in the final stage. Five companies applied for the job. A pre-bid meeting was also conducted recently, he said. The employees of Janani Express claimed that, due to the expiry of the contract tenure, they became jobless. “The 1,200 employees of Janani Express became jobless as of now until the govt ropes in a company to operate the 104 ambulances. It happened because govt did not take a timely decision to invite a tender for Janani Express,” said Virendra Singh, state president, Govt Ambulance Union.
