Actor Juyal seeks support for state’s Covid battle
Actor-dancer Raghav Juyal has sought the Centre’s support for Uttarakhand, which, like many other states, has been battling a surge in Covid-19 infections. Raghav has shared his appeal on various social media platforms. He has also pleaded with other states to pay heed to Uttarakhand’s appeal for help. In one of the videos shared on social media, Raghav said locals, youths, and volunteers in Uttarakhand are trying their best to provide medical help to as many patients as possible. But, due to a lack of resources, they have been unable to do enough. Raghav has been camping in Dehradun for over a month now.
Only two districts have vaccinated all frontline workers
Only two of Uttarakhand’s 13 districts have been able to fully vaccinate their frontline workers. However, of the 1.35 lakh frontline workers in the state, about 1.07 lakh have been fully vaccinated. “There have been instances when the vaccine registration of frontline workers has been done more than once. Hence, the number of frontline workers who are yet to be vaccinated is more than the real figure. We do not have clear data, but over 95% of frontline workers have already been vaccinated with both the doses,” Dr Kuldeep Martolia of the state health department said. Only Haridwar and Rudraprayag districts have been able to vaccinate all of their frontline workers. Haridwar has the maximum number of frontline workers in the state at 29,387. It is followed by Dehradun (24,665) and Udham Singh Nagar (23,867).
Govt asked to declare state’s teachers as frontline workers
Teachers of Uttarakhand have asked the state government to designate them as frontline workers too. Members of the Teachers Union of Uttarakhand have requested the state government to ensure that teachers, who are deployed on Covid-19 duty, are given perks similar to that of other frontline workers. The general secretary of the union said, “We are also working tirelessly to keep the education of students going. Our humble request on Covid-19 duty as frontline workers.”
Demand for ambulance services up by 36%
The demand for emergency ambulance services in Uttarakhand has gone up by 36%. On average, about 3,000 calls are now being received by 108 emergency services in the hill state each day. Earlier, the 108 emergency number used to get around 2,200 calls on average. Many ambulance drivers testing positive for Covid in recent weeks have added to the woes. “We are working more than 18 hours a day because many drivers have gotten infected,” an ambulance driver said. Amid high demand, there have also been reports of fleecing by many ambulance service providers.
vineet upadhyay
Our correspondent in Dehradun vineet.upadhyay@newindianexpress.com