While India set a new record by administering 100 billion Covid vaccine doses, the situation of a village in West Midnapore of West Bengal is worth worrying about. Only two persons have been vaccinated at Bagalpara village in Sabang block of West Midnapore. The minds of the people here are filled with superstition and bigotry. Alcohol abuse and child marriages are still prevalent in the area.
The village administration claimed that the people of their area were not vaccinated as they were not Aadhaar card holders and didn’t own cell phones. According to the local administration, the vaccination work was not carried out in the village owing to technical issues. A resident of the village was even unaware of the corona epidemic and did not know about vaccination.
The local panchayat chief said: “Lack of education and consciousness is the only reason for this condition. The people here come from far off places and are like nomads. Sometimes they stay, sometimes they relocate. The government has tried a lot for their betterment but failed. I request the government to organise a camp or arrange for their immunization.”
Area BDO, Tuhin Shuvro Mahanti said they distributed vaccines everywhere, but here. “Cell phones have not reached here yet. The people do not know how to use the Internet. Therefore, it is not possible to vaccinate them. However, a camp will be set up soon to start the vaccination,” he added.