Covid19 Vaccination Team Reaches Himachals Remote Village in Helicopter
Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in India to administer the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 to 100 per cent of its adult population. The state health department is also undertaking a mop-up exercise to ensure no eligible person is excluded from the vaccination drive. And to ensure that, a vaccination team on Wednesday flew to a remote village of Kangra district to inoculate the left-out population.
The health officials arrived at Bara Bhangal village in a helicopter, which flew over the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas, reported Hindustan Times. The village is situated at a height of 2,575 metres in the Bajinath sub-division of Kangra district.
“It is a challenge to reach the village as it is not connected with road. So, the state government provided its helicopter to conduct the vaccination camp,” Deputy Commissioner Nipun Jindal was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
The population of Bara Bhangal village is around 700, and 100 eligible residents have been inoculated while another team was sent with additional doses, said Dr Gurdarshan Gupta, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kangra.
The village is accessible only through an arduous trek of 70 km. It can take two-three days to reach Bara Bhangal on foot from Bir village. People of Bara Bhangal even migrate to Bir in the winters as their village gets cut off from the rest of the state. Dr Jindal said people who had come to Bir were vaccinated but those who chose to remain in Bara Bhangal are getting their shots now.
Chief Minister Jairam Thakur had directed the health department to conduct a mop-up exercise to cover all the eligible individuals with at least one dose of the vaccine. Himachal Pradesh’s population according to the 2011 census is around 68.65 lakhs, and the state has achieved the feat of vaccinating all the adult population with at least one dose.
