Residents of merged villages stuck between ZP and PMC for vax doses

PUNE After much speculation and discussion, the 23 villages located on the periphery of the city were finally merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) jurisdiction

PUNE After much speculation and discussion, the 23 villages located on the periphery of the city were finally merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) jurisdiction. However, while PMC is yet in the process of starting to provide facilities like water supply to the villages, amidst the pandemic, villagers still await vaccines against Covid-19.

HT Image

Residents from these areas said that Zilla Parishad centres, which get about 100 doses once a week are operating, however, the PMC is yet to set up any such vaccination centres.

Additional commissioner Rubal Agarwal said, “We have been getting a lot of demands from citizens. However, we are awaiting the Zilla Parishad hand over of the PHCs or to at least give us some space to start a temporary vaccination drive. In Wagholi we have identified a place. In another case we did identify a school where we could begin the drive, but since the school is a ZP property, we want them to hand over the space. The process to officially handover ZP properties to PMC is a lengthy one which will take a lot of time, so till then, the ZP can hand over some space to begin the drive.”

ZP CEO, Ayush Prasad said, “Our population is a lot more than PMC, even without these23 villages which constitute about 0.4 million of population. Currently we continue our drive of Covid-19 vaccination at the six PHCs which are located within the PMC area and each of the PHCs is provided 100 doses. The PHCs that are in PMC areas are still managed by ZP. All the services, medicines, vaccines would be provided by ZP until the state government approves transfer to PMC. We shall be providing vaccines without reducing the quota. We have requested PMC authorities to provide extra vaccines to these PHCs.”

Nitin Kumar Jain, one of the directors of the Wagholi Housing Society Association, said, “We have one PHC which has not seen any vaccination drive for the past few weeks. In the past month also we had the drive only one day in a week. While private hospitals continue with their drive, government centres are shut. We have conveyed our problems to the PMC who have promised that they would start a temporary centre soon.”

Another resident named Narendra Hagwanem, former deputy sarpanch and member of the Kirkatwadi Development Forum, a citizen’s activist group, said, “The ZP PHC is doing vaccination only once a week which is also shut now. The 100 doses that come to the centre once a week are reserved for both HCQ, FLW, second doses and first doses as well. At this speed only 10% of the population has been vaccinated till now in our area.”