Punjab cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arora landed into a controversy after he made infants and their parents wait for more than two hours at a polio vaccination camp in Hoshiarpur.
Arora was the chief guest at the camp organised on National Polio Day on Sunday.
According to the attendees, the minister was supposed to arrive at 8am but came after 10am. The parents said they requested the organisers to let them go after their children were vaccinated but they were asked to wait until the photo session with Arora.
A woman said on condition of anonymity, “The child had slept while we were waiting for the minister. We were told that a photo session will be held with the minister and we will be allowed to go only after that.”
When contacted, Arora said that he was told a different timing of the programme. “I was told the programme will begin between 9.30am and 10am. There was an incident in the city for which I had to go for 10 minutes. That’s why I got late. Had I known that the programme was at 8am, I would have come accordingly,” he said.
District immunisation officer Gurdip Singh Kapoor said the vaccination had started before the chief guest’s arrival. “We had started administering drops to children well before the minister came. As there was a rush of parents, some of them could have been waiting,” he said, adding that the activity usually takes time to gather momentum and the minister was informed accordingly. “We regret if some parents were inconvenienced,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}District immunisation officer Gurdip Singh Kapoor said the vaccination had started before the chief guest’s arrival. “We had started administering drops to children well before the minister came. As there was a rush of parents, some of them could have been waiting,” he said, adding that the activity usually takes time to gather momentum and the minister was informed accordingly. “We regret if some parents were inconvenienced,” he added.
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