Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 9: Despite bitter criticism of the non-BJP ruled states by the union health minister for creating “vaccine panic,” another non-BJP state after Maharashtra has cautioned the centre for vaccine shortage seeking an immediate supply of fresh stocks.
After Maharashtra demanding an emergency supply of 40 lakh doses and ended up getting promise for 17 lakh doses, the Congress government of Rajasthan has flagged vaccine shortage seeking an immediate supply of 30 lakh doses.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the stock of coronavirus vaccine in the state would finish in next two days and urged him to immediately provide at least 30 lakh doses. In a letter to the PM after a video conference with him on Thursday, Gehlot said the state has administered 86,89,770 doses till April 7.
“The present stock of vaccine in Rajasthan will finish in next two days. Therefore, it is requested that at least another 30 lakh doses of vaccine be provided to us immediately so that the momentum that we have built up can be maintained and maximum eligible beneficiaries can be vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.
“I want to assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to control COVID-19,” he added.
The union health minister Harsh Vardhan had on Wednesday reprimanded the non-BJP states for “wasting vaccines” and claiming “vaccine shortage” to hide their own failures to effectively handle the spread of the virus.
He had also claimed that Maharashtra and Rajasthan were two of the three states which had been allocated maximum amount of vaccine doses. “The hue and cry by certain states about partisanship by the union government is a farce, an attempt to hide their own incompetence,” the minister had tweeted. He had also quoted figures that Maharashtra was so far allocated 1.06 crore doses, Gujarat 1.05 crore and Rajasthan 1.04, the media reports pointed out that while Maharashtra was catering to a population of 12 crores, the population of the prime minister’s home state, which got the second highest allocation, was only six crores while that of Rajasthan was eight crores.
Gehlot’s request for immediate supply of vaccine came even as his party leader and former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi requested the prime minister for permission for universal vaccination lifting the present age bar. Gandhi wrote to Modi on Friday with an appeal for universal vaccination and said there was “no clear reason” why the government was exporting vaccines. He said the government should open up vaccination for everyone who needs it.”
The Indian Railways, meanwhile, assured people that it had no plans to curtail or stop trains services. The Indian Railways on Friday clarified that the current rush was “normal during the summer season.” In a press briefing, Railways Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said there was “no cause for alarm” and added that more trains were being pressed into service to clear the rush. In the last few days, migrant labourers have been leaving big cities, like Delhi and Mumbai, as new restrictions are imposed due to Covid-19.
The assurance came even as India reported 1,31,968 Covid-19 cases and 780 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Friday, once again a new record breaking 1.26 lakh cases on Thursday. The country’s caseload included 9,79,608 active cases and 1,19,13,292 recoveries and 1,67,642 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against an NCP functionary for allegedly violating COVID-19 norms during an election campaign meet in Pandharpur of Maharashtra’s Solapur district, an official said on Friday. The gathering on Thursday was addressed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar ahead of an Assembly bypoll in the district. The opposition BJP has alleged that the COVID-19 norms were flouted during the meet.