Goa: Nearly all residents of remote Surla given first vaccination dose

VALPOI: Surla, one of the most remote villages in Goa, situated in Sattari taluka has nearly all its residents vaccinated with the first dose of Covid-19. The hamlet which is set against the backdrop of the Western Ghats has a population of around 500. “The people of Surla have set an example by nearing completion of the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination of its population,” said health minister Vishwajit Rane.
“This is a significant achievement as we strive towards our goal of 100% vaccination.
I appeal to all the citizens to join our mission which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned,” said health minister Vishwajit Rane in a social media post.
While the response of senior citizens to vaccination in most villages has not been very satisfactory so far, the people of Surla which is situated on the Goa-Karnataka border have proven that they are ahead of others. For this far-off village the nearest government hospital is the Valpoi community health centre (CHC).
“Had there not been a Tika Utsav in the village, the response of people would not have been so good. Several people especially senior citizens would have skipped vaccination had they needed to travel far,” said an officer who was part of the drive. “A good thing was that after the villagers were informed about the vaccination date they came without doubting us,” the officer said.
In April during the first Tika Utsav many villagers had taken the jab at the Surla village panchayat, the remaining 218 villagers were vaccinated during a recent visit by the CHC team. Valpoi CHC in-charge Dr Shyam Kankonkar said, “Non-availability of internet in the village was a hurdle as it was not possible to register villagers on the Co-Win platform for vaccination.”
Panch member, Suryakant Gaonkar said, “Almost every villager has taken the dose and very few who are out of the village due to work, are remaining to be vaccinated,” Gaonkar said.
During the day, at various vaccination sites across the state as many as 18, 893 doses were administered.