MARGAO
There’s good news in store for the marginalised sections of society, including beggars and migrants, who have not received the anti-Covid vaccine till date for want of any documents.
Do not be surprised the next time you find officials and the police descending at the gardens, markets and old age homes to compile data of the marginalised sections. For, citizens, who are inmates of old age homes, road side beggars, migrant labourers or any other category of persons, who do not have any of the seven prescribed photo identity cards will now be eligible for the anti-Covid vaccine.
South Goa district Collector, Ruchika Katyal, IAS has constituted a sub-group at the taluka level in the district to identity such persons.
The Collector’s initiative comes in the wake of the communique received from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, which has formulated SOPs for Covid-19 vaccination of people who do not have any of the seven prescribed photo identity cards.
In the light of the advisory, the Collector has constituted the sub-group at the taluka level for the identification of such persons.
Additional Collector II (South), Sanjit Rodrigues has been appointed as the District Nodal Officer and the SDMs of the concerned sub-division shall be the Taluka Nodal Officers.
Sanjit told The Goan that the sub-committee headed by taluka deputy Collector, comprises members including the Sub-Divisional Police Officer, taluka Block Development Officer, Chief Officers of the civic bodies and the Labour inspectors who will devise strategy how to identify the marginalised people who have not taken the anti-Covid vaccine dose for want of identity documents.
“Members of the team along with their staff will visit various places such as the Municipal and panchayat gardens, markets, old age homes and register them. These people will get the vaccine once they are enabled on the portal,” he said.
To a question, Sanjit said the sub-committee will have to fan out to the places which are frequented by the marginalised sections, including the markets and garden before getting themselves registered.
The sub-group of the taluka are expected to hold its first meeting on June 14 and it will submit their final report by June 20 to the District Nodal Officer for onward submission to the government.
Hundreds, if not thousands of persons hailing from the marginalised sections of society, including beggars and migrants have not got the anti-Covid vaccine in the city till date. With the city pavements and garden benches their home, most of these persons have not received the dose for want of any identity card nor cell phones for registration.
The Goan had recently highlighted how the marginalised sections of society were left out from the vaccination exercise, since they neither possess the Aadhaar cards nor had any cell phones with them.
