RAJKOT: The mandatory vaccination deadline for traders and factories draws nigh, but the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) is blissfully ignorant of how many staff could not be vaccinated because of shortage as it has no data. Forget data, it does not even have a category of this kind generated during the survey conducted last year on how many people were to be vaccinated!
The government defined super spreaders and mandated factories to make jabs compulsory or face closure in order to arest the spread of virus. It put a deadline of July 10 by which employees working with traders and in small scale factories in GIDC areas were told to take vaccination.
All roadside vendors too fall in the mandatory vaccination category. “There is no category of super spreaders in our list and because of that we have no data to show how many of them are vaccinated and how many are not,” a senior RMC officer told TOI on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, owing to shortage of vaccines, centres in Rajkot were reduced to 32 from 62 and all the camps planned by social organization and trade association too were postponed. Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Thursday shot a letter to the state government asking to extend the deadline till July 31.
Parth Ganatra, vice president of RCCI said “The authority should help us to get our people vaccinated rather than issue mere mandates to get people vaccinated. The authorities should vaccinate our people on the spot who are yet to be vaccinated rather than taking coercive action.”
There is resentment among traders as they have to give compulsory leave to employees who are not vaccinated. Process is closed in the entire state for three days which is giving them a feeling of helplessness. Divyesh Patadiya, president of Rajkot jems and jewellery association, said, “We are asking the authority to organize a camp for our association. We will provide all facilities so that all those who are left out including our workers can be vaccinated.”
