Vaccination / People get 1-litre petrol for getting vaccinated in Jharkhand city

Chakradharpur: A unique vaccination camp was held in Chakradharpur city in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand where those taking the Covid-19 vaccine shot were given a litre of petrol free. This comes amid vaccine hesitancy among the tribals.

Monday’s camp was jointly organised by the city unit of the Marwari Yuva Manch (MYM) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). State women and child development and social security minister Joba Majhi inaugurated the camp in the presence of the West Singhbhum administration officials.

“We held this special vaccination drive in collaboration IOC. A total of 240 persons were given coupons for 1 litre free petrol after they got themselves vaccinated. The idea was to motivate people for inoculation,” Nitesh Kumar Bagaria, MYM-Chakradharpur, said on Tuesday.

On the occasion, minister Joba Majhi said, “Every citizen must protect themselves against Covid-19 by getting vaccinated urgently. They should not pay any heed to rumours over vaccination.”

So far, West Singhbhum has seen 134 Covid fatalities while 5,086 deaths have been reported from the state. Convincing tribals to get the vaccine shot has been a task in West Singhbhum. Health workers have reportedly been attacked in a few villages when they went there to vaccinate people.

Deputy commissioner Ananya Mittal said at a meeting with village heads at government school in Bandgaon block of the district, “Vaccination percentage is very low at just 9% in Bandgaon block. The vaccination rate in West Singhbhum is 30% whereas 60% people in neighbouring East Singhbhum district have been vaccinated already. I urge people not to pay any heed to rumours about vaccination.”

Meanwhile, the Chaibasa unit of the Lions Club and Chaibasa Gurudwara jointly started a vaccination camp from Monday where lucky draw coupons are being given to the people after getting vaccinated.

“This camp will run till June 20 where people are being vaccinated with the cooperation of the district administration. People will be given attractive gifts on the basis of the lucky coupon lottery,” Kunal Saraf, former president of Lions Club-Chaibasa, said, adding that the focus is on the people in the nearby slums.

To be sure, while overall vaccine supplies may be there at the state level, individual vaccination centres may run out of stock on account of how the states manage their replenishments.