Burdwan (West Bengal): A special vehicle carrying COVID-19 vaccines got held up Wednesday in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district. It happened due to a blockade of the national highway led by minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury. The minister and his followers were protesting against the new farm laws, sources said. Luckily the COVID-19 vaccines were not damaged as police acted swiftly.
Purba Bardhaman’s SP, Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay said that the vaccine-carrying insulated van was diverted over a distance of five km through a village owing to the blockade of the national highway. The delay in the movement of the vehicle was for the time taken to cover the five kilometre distance through the village, he said.
Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the vehicle had to traverse village roads for a distance of 20 kms. Then only it managed to come back to the national highway again. The van, which was being piloted by the West Bengal police, was on its way to Bankura and Purulia districts to deliver the vaccines.
After leaving the state government’s vaccine store in Kolkata, the vehicle delivered 31,500 vaccines at Purba Bardhaman district health office. Then it was on its way to deliver the vaccines to Bankura and Purulia when its onward journey was stopped at around 10.00am owing to the blockade. The vehicle had to stop despite a green corridor having been arranged by the police for its smooth and fast movement, sources said.
Chowdhury said he was not aware of the movement of the vaccine van and cleared the road once it was brought to his notice that the vehicle was held up, but by that time it was already diverted.
