‘No vaccine, no ration’ slogan in Gadag village

GADAG: In a bid to counter vaccine hesitancy and to prod residents to get inoculated against Covid-19 on priority, a gram panchayat here has passed a “no vaccine no ration” resolution. Officials of the Kotabal gram panchayat said they are aware that PDS supplies cannot be stopped on such grounds and that it is merely a slogan to motivate villagers.
The resolution, passed unanimously at a general body meeting on Friday, is likely to raise some hackles over what comes across as pressure tactics to get villagers vaccinated.
Panchayat president Veeranna Yalagi said earlier, several camps were held in the village in Ron taluk but vials went unused. “When we said vaccine was needed to avail rations, all 90 vials were used the same day. With this, we have administered vaccine to 560 people out of 900, who are aged above 45 years, in Kotabal alone,” he said. “Our GP includes two other villages — Tallihal and Mugali — and we will use the same strategy there also.”
‘We can’t deny ration; slogan is only meant to create awareness’
Wis e are illegal aware , not that to denying mention ration inhumane. So we use this slogan just to motivate people” he added, admitting even the slogan would run hollow until the village gets enough doses.
“Of course, we cannot deny ration to those who have not yet obtained vaccination. ‘No vaccine, no ration’ is just a slogan to create awraeness,” said panchayat developmet officer Kalpana Kadagad.
“Villagers continue to believe in many myths about the vaccine and we have to convince them to take the injection. We can’t force anybody but we can motivate them to go ahead. We will also coordinate with the health department to conduct vaccination camps in phases,” said Yalagi.
“We were not sure about taking the vaccine since we had heard adverse things,” said Hanamantappa Ronad, a villager. “The gram panchayat members reassured us and I got the shot on Friday.”