To inoculate people in the remote villages of Sundarbans, West Bengal has launched a ‘vaccination on boat’ initiative. Migrant labourers in 12 Sundarban islands are being immunised against Covid. Under this initiative, four boats are being deployed to vaccinate migrant labourers in 12 Sundarban islands to immunise them against the virus. As once they step out of the villages in search of work, they might turn into super-spreaders without proper immunisation. One of these boats has already arrived at Kumirmari, where three out of every hundred persons got vaccinated.

West Bengal Launches Vaccination On Boat For People Living In Remote Sunderbans Island

Four boats are being deployed to vaccinate migrant labourers in 12 Sundarban islands to immunise them against the virus. As once they step out of the villages in search of work, they might turn into super-spreaders without proper immunisation. One of these boats has already arrived at Kumirmari, where three out of every hundred persons got vaccinated.

'Vaccination on Boat'– A special initiative by District Administration to facilitate vaccination for the islanders in far off Kumirmari & many other distant locations in South 24 Parganas pic.twitter.com/5NDGcLmJMS

— District Information & Cultural Officer, S24 Pgs (@DistrictPgs) July 5, 2021

Also Read: 5 Fun Facts About India’s Sundarbans National Park

The Boats Will Have Wifi Connectivity

Sundarbans is a wild terrain along the coast, south of Kolkata and situated at the mouth of the Ganges. It is one of the most unique mangrove ecosystems in the world, home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. The boats meant for carrying vials for the villagers in Sundarbans will also have Wifi connectivity. The remote villages do not have access to the internet. However, a network will be required for registering them on the CoWIN site. According to an ABP Live report, South 24-Parganas district magistrate P. Ulganathan said, “We have started with targeted vaccination of migrant labourers. The target is to get them vaccinated before they leave home for work.” The four boats will enable the vaccination of migrant labourers in 12 Sundarban islands over the coming few days.

Also Read: West Bengal-Bangladesh Rail Link Resumes After 55 Years

Health Centres Are Far From These Remote Villages

A boat has already reached Sundarban’s Kumirmari where villagers got vaccinated. Gosaba is the nearest health centre from Kumirmari, which is around 4 kilometres away by boat. Health centres are far from these remote areas and due to a certain lack of awareness, vaccination is quite challenging for the villagers. This boat vaccination initiative is easing the immunisation drive by identifying target groups in Kumirmari, Chandipur, Bally, Gosaba, Mousuni, Satjeliya, Chotomollakhali, Ghoramara, Kachukhali, Radhanagar-Taranagar, G-plot, and K-plot islands. Earlier, Kolkata had launched a vaccine bus to inoculate priority groups in markets.