No polio drops: 8 ANMs face action

not be tolerated. Even the chief minister’s office (CMO) has sought a report,” he added.

Barmer district collector Sudheer Sharma had earlier directed the health department to carry out sudden inspections of health centres and submit a report. He had ordered this after locals complained that most health facilities remain closed.

On Sharma’s directions, Barmer deputy chief medical and health officer, Dr PC Dipen, carried out an inspection of the health centres in three blocks – Barmer, Chohtan and Dhorimanna – from March 31 to April 2. He visited nine sub-centres and found all of them closed on April 2, which is National Pulse Polio Day. This implies that not even one child, under the age of five in these villages, were administered the polio vaccine.

Apart from these, many other irregularities were also found.

The Government of India had declared Barmer and Jodhpur as high-risk areas considering their proximity with Pakistan, a polio endemic country. In high-risk areas, extra rounds of immunisation are carried out, however, several health centres failed to carry out the recent drive.

The polio virus may cause paralysis and is easily preventable by the polio vaccine.