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Author: SP Singh
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 1, 2005
In a strange but true incident, health workers, who had gone to vaccinate children against polio in a Muslim dominated locality of Muradnagar town in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, were roughed up by parents unwilling to protect their children against this deadly disease.
The residents allegedly manhandled a woman health worker. Her colleague was forced to open her mouth and a phial of vaccine was emptied into it.
The police have registered a case against six men after the health workers lodged a complaint with the District Magistrate. One person has been arrested.
According to Dr DP Singh, health officer of the city, a six-member team was administering polio drops to children in Osaf Nagar, a Muslim-dominated area, on Thursday as part of the countrywide pulse polio campaign to eradicate this crippling disease.
When the health workers knocked on the door of Hasimuddin, a resident of Osaf Nagar, he came out and refused to have his children vaccinated. When the health workers tried to reason with him, he became aggressive and began to push them around. By then, six men from the neighbourhood had joined him.
Hasimuddin then snatched a phial of vaccine and forcibly poured the contents into the mouth of one of the health workers, Shalu. When the team leader protested, she was manhandled by the crowd. Soon, other residents began pelting stones at the health workers, forcing them to flee.
The health workers later met District Magistrate Santosh Kumar Yadav and briefed him about the incident. According to them, they routinely face trouble and harassment in Muslim-dominated areas where people are reluctant to vaccinate their children. Mr Yadav instructed the police to register a criminal case and take swift action.
Statistics show that despite the intensive pulse polio campaign, cases of polio continue to be reported from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Most of these cases are reported from Muslim dominated areas.
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