Trans-Yamuna village misses out on vaccination amid jurisdiction issues

The only village in GB Nagar that falls across the Yamuna, Dalelpur is closer to Faridabad in Haryana by road.

Even though Gautam Budh Nagar is the second most inoculated district of Uttar Pradesh, the tiny village of Dalelpur here is still waiting for its first Covid-19 vaccine.

Residents of Dalelpur village cross the Yamuna river on a small boat, in Greater Noida. (HT Photo)

The only village in GB Nagar that falls across the Yamuna, Dalelpur is closer to Faridabad in Haryana by road. The national vaccine programme was rolled out in mid-January, and opened up for general citizens from March. But four months on, none of the Dalelpur residents have been vaccinated, according to village head Kailash Chaprana (55).

“Our village is disconnected from Noida and Greater Noida due to the Yamuna. Neither does our village have a single government hospital or health centre, nor did any official of the health department visit the village since the vaccines were rolled out. We are given a step-brotherly treatment because of the poor connectivity of our village with the district,” Chaprana said.

The residents here use a makeshift boat to cross the river to visit Noida and Greater Noida, but most try to avoid it as the boat is in a poor condition and buying a new boat is a pricey and lengthy affair in terms of logistics.

“Because of poor connectivity most of the villagers have stopped going towards Noida and only go when absolutely necessary for official work. Hence, only those in the panchayat go towards Noida for official work frequently. As a result, it is usually only three to four families in the village that use the boat. Now that the existing one is broken, we will need to buy a new one for ₹70,000 from Mathura, Vrindawan or Haridwar and get it transported here,” said Chaprana, adding that they will pool money and get a new boat soon.

But Neeraj Tyagi (44), another resident, feels using a boat to travel isn’t just archaic, it is also fraught with risks. “It feels like we are stuck in a time-warp where none of the modern services has reached. We cannot keep crossing the river daily on a boat. There have been several incidents of people falling into the river while crossing it. Fortunately, no one has drowned,” Tyagi said.

Sky-high buildings located along the Noida-Greater Noida expressway in sectors 146, 135 and 164 are easily visible from Dalelpur. But it takes the villagers nearly 20 minutes to cross the river to get to the other side. By road, it would take them over one-and-a-half hours to reach the same spot, which is almost 60km away. Official work of the villagers is usually done at the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority in Greater Noida, or the district magistrate’s office in Surajpur, Greater Noida.

The ride from Noida to the village goes via several inter-state borders: UP-Delhi, Delhi-Haryana, and Haryana-UP.

According to the village head, Dalelpur has a population of about 500 of which 250 are eligible for vaccination. But so far, he claimed, not a single resident has been infected with Covid-19 as they have scrupulously followed all Covid protocols.

The head’s son, Satpal Chaprana (25), said all the villagers do not have smartphones to register themselves on the CoWIN app and get vaccinated.

“Some of the youngsters who have smartphones have registered but we are not able to book slots on the app. Our nearby villages that fall in Haryana had vaccination camps but nothing of that sort has been organised here, he said.

The hamlet also faces issues like poor electricity supply, and lack of good education or health facilities.

“The Haryana government used to supply electricity to the village, but supply has been reduced to a few hours a day now. We have to charge mobiles from car batteries, and children are unable to attend school too,” said Narendra Chaprana, another resident.

The village also does not have any government schools. “The children have to go to Faridabad’s government schools which are about 25km away. But even these are only up to Class VIII or X after which children either drop out or switch to private schools, depending on their financial situation,” said Neeraj Tyagi, a villager.

When questioned about this, GB Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said the door-to-door vaccine programme in the villages has been put on hold due to the shortage of jabs.

“Vaccination is only being done for those who have registered on CoWIN. I am sure if the villagers register and book slots on the app, they will be vaccinated at the nearest Covid vaccination centre (CVC). When the vaccine shortage ends, we will restart the door-to-door scheme,” Suhas said.

The nearest CVC is 46 km or over an hour’s drive away as the village does not have any community or primary health centre or any government hospital. The villagers say if the authorities can build a bridge over the river for the villagers to cross over, most of their issues will be resolved.

“We will have to send a team of the irrigation department to assess the feasibility of a bridge for the villagers. Nonetheless, we will examine the demands of the villagers and try to find a solution. In the meantime, I will ask the health department to hold a health camp at the village for other health issues,” said the district magistrate.

As regards the erratic power supply, Suhas said he would send a power department team to sort it out.

Dalelpur, which was earlier part of Gulawli village in GB Nagar district, was made a separate village in 2018, the officials said. According to the officials, Dalelpur became part of the Dadri assembly constituency after a delimitation exercise in 1983. Now, it comes under Jewar block. The village lies under the jurisdiction of Knowledge Park police station in Greater Noida, which is 60km away (90-minute drive) from the village by road.