Rumour impedes polio programme

MOBARAKPUR (SAHARSA): A rumour in the form of a four-page document originating from Hyderabad, has stormed this sleepy village under Salkhua block of the district and impeded the government's polio eradication programme in a big way.
A large number of people in this village are still refusing to administer polio drops to their children. If the CDPO (Child Development Project Officer) of Salkhua block, Bandana Pandey, is to be believed, she had to face at least 74 refusal cases in this village.
The villagers, particularly women-folk, fear disastrous ill-effects of the drug on their minor sons and daughters under the spell of the printed material in Urdu (a photocopy of which is available with TOI).
The WHO, UNICEF and the Bihar government's health department authorities had to face rough weather at the inaugural function of week-long campaign (from September 9 to 15) held in the madrassa here recently, when the local people from minority community raised the issue and angrily asked the authorities to explain why such canards (if at all they are baseless) had not been contradicted by the government.
Smelling a rat, organisers brought Dr Abul Kalam, a reputed orthopaedic surgeon from Saharsa to convince the people of the minority community about the consequences of their refusal.
Kalam referred to different hospitals run by Khanka Rehmani, Munger, and Imarat-e-Sharia, Phulwarisharif, where doctors run the polio vaccination programme.
He exhorted people from the minority community to come forward to administer polio drops to their children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) authorities concerned had selected this remote, flood-ravaged village for the inauguration of the polio eradication campaign as recently three polio cases have been detected from this village.
Five cases of polio have been detected in Saharsa, seven in Madhepura and one in Supaul district. Incidentally, all blocks from where these cases were reported have been ravaged by Kosi floods.