Madhya Pradesh: Teachers in Dindori district sow paddy so that farmers can get vaxxed

Schoolteachers roped in by the Madhya Pradesh health department to motivate people to take the jab sowed paddy for farmers and farm labourers in Dindori district after the beneficiaries said they would be able to go to the vaccine centres only after they are done with sowing. The seedlings of hope were sown at Manikpur village in Shahpur tehsil, 380km east of Bhopal, on August 7. The teachers, doing their usual get-the-vaccine rounds, arrived at a vaccination booth in the village to find it empty. According to their records, at least 33 people were due for their second dose and there were many others who needed to be motivated to take their first shot. The teachers went to the village to find that everyone was in the fields, sowing paddy. The teachers rolled up their trousers and salwars and walked into the muddy fields to talk to the farmers. The farmers said they could get the vaccine some other day, but the season won’t wait. The weather is favourable now for sowing. If it changes, their crop will be ruined. It was a compelling argument. Most of the teachers grew up in villages and knew exactly why the farmers were willing to risk Covid in their race to catch the clouds. They had a quick discussion on the ‘bund’ and decided to trade places. The teachers proposed that they would work in the fields while the farmers should go to get themselves vaccinated. By evening, all 33 farmers had got their second dose, and the field ‘lesson’ had got to those yet to take the shot.