Dharavi: Campaigns, free travel, gifts push up COVID-19 vaccination numbers

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC corporators local politicians and doctors are going all out to ensure that the residents of Dharavi get vaccinated They have come up with different ways mdash doortodoor campaigns free travel and gift hampers mdash to encourage the residents to take the jab and clear their doubts regarding the vaccines Hence the number of vaccinations in the area which earlier used to be about 100 daily has increased to more than 300 nowOn weekends citizens may travel to the train station or return from there on a valid ticketEven after the vaccination process started it was observed that not many people from Dharavi were getting inoculated As no centre had been set up in the area residents had to go either to Sion hospital or BKC jumbo COVID Centre for the jabs Considering that people might be reluctant to travel long distances a vaccination centre was set up at the Urban Health Centre in Dharavi popularly known as Chhota Sion on March 22 But people were still reluctant to take the jabldquoNot much enthusiasm regarding the vaccine was seen in Dharavi during the first week so we started a doortodoor campaign to find out why There was a lot of concern over safety of the jab and travelling costrdquo said Kiran Dighavkar assistant commissioner of GNorth wardldquoWe held meetings with doctors practising in Dharavi corporators MLAs and MPs and started working on finding a wayrdquo he added Vans with mikes announcing details about the vaccination drive and timings were deployed in the area Corporators also started to reach out to the residents and explain the importance of vaccinationldquoMost of the population in Dharavi is illiterate so they were scared as they feared the jabrsquos sideeffectsrdquo said Babbu Khan corporator from ward 184 ldquoThere was so much misinformation and confusion over who can take the jab We cleared peoplersquos doubts slowlyrdquo he addedAs the authorities found out that one of the reasons for low turnout was transport cost free BEST bus rides were arranged from nine health posts in Dharavi to Chhota SionDr Anil Pachnekar senior medical professional practising in Dharavi said ldquoMany doctors in the area now ask their patients and relatives to get vaccinated We talk to them and clear their doubtsrdquo Vasant Nakashe corporator from ward 186 said ldquoI have been going door to door and my party workers have made a list of names and are meeting people personallyrdquoDighavkar said ldquoAfter these arrangements were made people started coming for the vaccines The BMC roped in corporators who distributed santisers and gifts among the residents Now the situation is a lot better but much more needs to be donerdquoDharavi vaccination drivePopulation of Dharavi approx 12 lakhDaily inoculation capacity of Chhota Sion 1000Total No of people inoculated from March 22 to 38 875Total No of people inoculated from March 28 till date ndash 2556Daily vacination numbers in Dharavigtgt April 6 ndash 330gtgt April 5 ndash 390gtgt April 4 ndash 170gtgt April 3 ndash 441gtgt April 2 ndash 391875No of Dharavi residents vaccinated between March 22 and March 282556No of Dharavi residents vaccinated between March 29 and April 6