Less than 45% front-line workers turn up for shots
Most CRPF and ITBP personnel listed sent to Uttarakhand to tackle the disaster but can’t rule out reluctance: Experts
A Noida Police constable stood outside a private hospital where he was to get his vaccination against Covid-19. He had to show his government identification card to the guard to gain access. But, he decided not to.
“I had recovered from Covid-19 only three months ago. My personal doctor said I already had the antibodies to fight another infection so why should I take the vaccine?” he said, while turning to go back. “I can’t be compelled to take the shot.
HT is refraining from identifying the constable. Another man, a personnel with the central reserve police force (CRPF), at the centre also turned back soon after.
“My wife and I had fought off the Covid-19 infection a few months ago. Our bodies are immune. I do not find any reason to get the jab,” he said.
Most of the 46 booths in 22 hospitals in the district were deserted on Thursday, the first day of full-fledged phase-2 of the vaccination drive when frontline workers such as police and paramilitary personnel and civic body workers would be vaccinated.
Of the 5,750 frontline workers who were to receive their shot, only 2,518 (or 44%) were inoculated.
Gautam Budh Nagar district vaccination officer Dr Neeraj Tyagi said, “The turnout was not encouraging and we’ll try to increase it in the coming sessions. During Thursday’s drive, no adverse event following immunization (AEFI) was reported.”
AEFI is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization and reflects consequences for immunization coverage and disease incidence
Dr Tyagi said next session will take place at 45 booths in the district on Friday. “We have listed 5,625 frontline workers for this session where Covaxin will be administered too.”
Till Thursday, all beneficiaries were administered the Serum
Institute of India’s (SII’S) Covishield vaccine. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be administered for the first time in the district.
Gautam Budh Nagar chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Deepak Ohri, attributed the recent Uttarakhand disaster behind the low turnout.
“Most of the CRPF and Indotibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel listed for this session were sent to Uttarakhand to tackle the disaster there. Besides that, we also can’t rule out reluctance among many towards the vaccine despite our repeated efforts to clear their doubts about the efficacy and accuracy of the vaccines,” he said.
Officials said 18,717 frontline warriors were registered for phase 2 that will have two more sessions.
The central government has said that it wants all frontline workers to get the jab, regardless of whether they have recovered from Covid-19 or not.
GHAZIABAD: Unlike the chakka jam call given by farmers, their February 18’s rail roko (stop the rail) call will include Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well.
During the chakka jam call on February 6, farmer leaders including Rakesh Tikait, leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), had announced the exclusion of the two states citing “inputs” of miscreants planning to create nuisance during the jam.
Farmer leaders who attended a meeting of the core committee held at the Singhu border said Thursday that the rail roko call will help farmers in different areas of the country participate in the protest and will also connect the common man to the farmers’ agitation.
“It has been finalised. The rail roko is scheduled for February 18 from 12pm to 4pm. This will be carried out by farmers across the country, including in UP and Uttarakhand. Unlike before, these two states will not be excluded. Likewise, on February 14, farmers will carry out a candle march to remember the martyrs of the Pulwama terror attack as well as our brothers who lost lives during the ongoing agitation,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a member of the UP Gate farmers’ committee and a farmer leader from Uttarakhand.
Ahead of the chakka jam call on February 5, Tikait and Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of the BKU’S Rajewal faction, had announced that the two states will be excluded from the blockade.
The core committee members later raised objections saying that the issue was not communicated
to them.
“There was some lack of communication and the issue was sorted out. For the rail roko call, the two states have been included and it will be countrywide. The candle march will also be carried out across the country, including at all protest sites. The call for more agitation has been given as the government has not sent us any day or venue where they will continue talks with farmers. It is the government which has to decide the time and venue for talks,” Bajwa added.
Rajbir Singh, the UP vicepresident of the BKU, said that the exclusion of UP and Uttarakhand from the chakka jam call was based on some inputs.
“Our leaders excluded the two states as they had inputs that some outsiders will try to indulge in violence. The issues with the core committee were
later sorted out. It was some misunderstanding which had cropped up then,” Rajbir Singh added.
Incidents of violence were reported during the tractor parade taken out by farmers in the national Capital on Republic Day, with farmer leaders later claiming that the rally had been infiltrated by “outsiders”.
Several rounds of talks between farm union leaders and the government have taken place but no solution has come through yet.
The last round of talks were held on January 22.
The farmers’ committee also said it is trying to form a panel of lawyers to deal with cases lodged against farmers after the violence in Delhi.
The protesting farmers are demanding repeal of three new agricultural laws and a new law on minimum support price. The protesters at UP Gate have been camping there since November 28, 2020.
According to farmers’ estimates, the gathering at the site was about 40,000-50,000 at its height before the tractor parade. After incidents of violence, however, most farmers had packed up and left for home. The numbers were resurrected after Tikait broke down in front of media persons and supporters on the evening of January 28. Following his emotional appeal to supporters to bring him water, the gathering was restocked to “almost a lakh”, according to farmer leaders.
The police department, however, had pegged the number at a maximum of 8,000-10,000 before the parade, and 2,000-2,500 in later stages.
Numbers have reduced since then, with supporters flocking to the site when Tikait is present at UP Gate. When he goes out to attend meetings and panchayats, there are fewer people present.
“The gathering is low, but it is being maintained. Many farmers are working in fields harvesting sugarcane while others are coming and going in rotation. Saying that the gathering has reduced does not mean that the agitation has ended. We have been protesting here for the past 76 days and we challenge any political party to show us if they can take up a protest even for 76 hours,” said Singh.
“Our protest is of farmers and the common man and we have no paid workers who have come here to protest. So, the gathering goes up and down sometimes. The rail roko call will bring farmers across the country into action and more will join protests,” he added.
To ensure a better future for the children living below the poverty line, the Yogi government has started identifying children engaged in child labour and begging. The exercise has been started under the Mission Shakti campaign launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in October.
The theme of January 2021 was designed with special focus on children under Mission Shakti campaign and is based on children engaged in child labour, begging and elimination of child trafficking. To improve the childhood of these poor children and ensure protection and respect to them, the Department of Women and Child Development has started working extensively in all the districts of UP including the state capital, Lucknow. These children are being admitted to primary schools and are also being empowered financially.
Officials are preparing a list of ration card holders at district level. In this task, teams of labour department, police department, Women and Child Development Department and the health department are identifying and surveying the children at the ground level. After identifying these children, they are being admitted to primary schools and provided with hygiene kits besides food items. In view of January’s theme of Mission Shakti an action plan had been prepared for providing benefits of the government schemes to these children, government and non-government institutions are being encouraged to adopt city crossings and blocks. 50 NGOS including the Childline and
Bal Kalyan Samiti have adopted 31 city crossings of Lucknow. With the commencement of the adaptation process, the children identified by the institutions are being directly benefitted from the schemes.
The campaign against forced child labour and begging from poor children is being carried out at a large scale in the state. Due to this campaign, cases of child labour and child crime are declining in the state and the number of families migrating to other states for employment is also coming down.
OPERATION KAYAKALP
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s dreams of all-round development of the students studying in the primary schools of Uttar Pradesh is eventually turning into a reality.
The Yogi government’s ‘Kayakalp’ (transformation) scheme of primary schools is taking shape across the state. In Bareilly district, as many as 17,000 students of primary schools are mastering skills like, dance, singing, yoga, painting, art crafts by joining the portal ‘Bareilly Ka Hunar’, as many as 1,451 primary schools in Bareilly have been transformed under it. Under this scheme, 8,646 classrooms, renovation of 754 school toilets and multiple hand wash systems have been put in place in 1,070 schools.
Besides this, Panchayat buildings have also been renovated and 200 libraries have been established to promote the tendency of reading in children, to increase interest in sports, MNREGA parks and open gyms have also been developed in 75 schools. In 750 schools, boundary walls have been constructed under MNREGA and furniture has also been arranged with the help of public representatives.
About 1,450 primary schools of state capital Lucknow have also been rejuvenated under the ‘Kayakalp’ Scheme. According to the statistics of the education department, more than 1.35 lakh primary schools of the state have been rejuvenated under the ‘Kayakalp’ scheme and the state government aims to cover all 1.58 lakh primary schools by 2022.