Gurgaon: When Mohit Bishnoi, a Gurgaon resident, registered himself on the Cowin website to get vaccinated, he got a slot at a site in Gari Harsari. After he reached there on Tuesday morning, officials told him to go to a government school in Dhankot for the jab.
“When I reached the vaccination site, I saw locals protesting,” said Bishnoi.
Strange scenes welcomed many others like Bishnoi, who turned up for the vaccine shots at the camp. The locals had stopped the inoculations demanding that they should be vaccinated first.
The residents protested in front of the camp, claiming many of them had tried to register for vaccines but not found any slots and thought it was “unjust” that a camp should be held in their village where “outsiders” would come and get vaccines.
With the locals refusing to allow the camp to proceed, it had to be called off and those who had appointments were directed to another centre, where they received the vaccines. Bishnoi said, “The village sarpanch arrived and said that people from outside the village will not be allowed to get vaccinated as the locals were unable to get registered.”
Another resident who came for the jab in Dhankot said, “We waited for around two-and-a-half hours, but the issue was unresolved. They directed us to the PHC in Gari Harsaru, which got crowded due to the additional people. However, we managed to get our first dose of vaccination.”
When TOI reached out to Dhankot sarpanch, Dinesh Kumar, he confirmed that several people were turned away from the vaccination site. “While the villagers aren’t able to register themselves and get vaccinated, people from far off areas in Gurgaon are coming here to get the vaccine. This has irked the people in the village. We had to ask the medical officer to shift the vaccination camp,” said Kumar, adding that he intervened to maintain peace and harmony.
He further added that Dhankot was not an official site. It was turned into a vaccination camp at the request of the medical officer and the health department.
Dr Shalini Gupta, a medical officer, said they had chosen two sites to avoid a mixup between age brackets. “The villagers were adamant that to get vaccinated without registration. Hence, we had to move the centre to Gari Harsaru.” At many other vaccination centres in the city, people complained of violations of social distancing norms. They said that they had to wait for hours in line to get the shot.
Vishal Gupta, a Faridabad resident, received a message saying that he has been inoculated. “I checked the website and found my vaccination certificate even though I have received only one dose so far,” said Gupta. He added that when he called the government helpline, he was informed that there was a mistake. Ram Bhagat, the Faridabad surveillance officer, said: “This portal is run by the central government. We are not aware of the matter.”
