Vaccination of street vendors, commercial drivers to start in Noida from June 14

Noida: Gautam Budh Nagar will start a special vaccination drive for street vendors and commercial vehicle drivers from June 14

Noida: Gautam Budh Nagar will start a special vaccination drive for street vendors and commercial vehicle drivers from June 14. District administration officials said that on-the-spot registration of the beneficiaries will be carried out at the vaccination centres.

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For drivers of commercial vehicles that include auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws, the booth will be set up at the assistant regional transport office (ARTO) in Noida Sector 32. However, for street vendors, the venue of the vaccination booth is yet to be decided, the officials said.

“The health department has started planning for the special vaccination camps for target groups as per the state government order. The order specifies areas where the booths can be held for street vendors and commercial vehicle drivers and we will follow the same,” said Suhas LY, district magistrate, GB Nagar.

The DM further said that as per the state government order, the camp for street vendors should be held in a municipal corporation office. “However, since the district doesn’t have a municipal office, we are yet to decide the venue,” he said.

SK Gupta, president of Rehri Patri Sanchalak Welfare Association, said that the district has over 20,000 street vendors. “This is a huge financial as well as medical assistance to poor street vendors who were hit hard by the partial Covid curfew. We are at a greater risk of getting Covid-19. But unlike others, we cannot stay at home,” he said.

CB Jha, president of Atta Market Traders Welfare Association, demanded that the vaccination booth for street vendors should be created in market places. “There are around 700 street vendors in Atta Market area. In order to encourage them for vaccination, the administration should hold the camp in the market areas,” he said.

Lal Babu, union leader of Noida Auto Rickshaw Chalak Association, said, “There are around 7,000 auto drivers in GB Nagar registered with the association. When our vaccination starts, we will make sure that all the drivers get vaccinated,” he said.

There are around 8,000 commercial vehicles registered in GB Nagar district, said an ARTO official.

Resident associations in the district had earlier demanded special vaccination booth for street vendors. “This is a welcome initiative by the government to help street vendors get vaccinated. We had raised this demand because these vendors come in contact with hundreds of people daily,” said Sumil Jalota from the Noida Extension Flat Owner’s Welfare Association.

Meanwhile, the GB Nagar officials said that the district administration is also holding a one-day vaccination camp at a women’s shelter home in Sector 34, Noida on Friday. “There are 152 women at the shelter who are eligible to get the vaccine. They will be administered Covishield,” said Shailendra Bahadur Singh, district social welfare officer, GB Nagar.