Real life story of a Rotary Volunteer who ventured against threats to his life to argue and convince aggressive mobs trapped by misinformation and fanaticism propagated by vested interests, political clouts and self styled medicos, that Oral Polio V...
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It was a chill evening past five. The sun had already set. The second day following the National Immunization Day in the month was just over and the feed back session in the beautiful lawn of the CMO's Bungalow was drawing to a close.
Gaziabad had assumed particular importance because of its situation bordering Delhi, and as a buffer district with very large migrant and commuting population. Gaziabad being one of the widest districts with prominent urban and rural areas, feed back was a slow process. Dr. Amanullah had just arrived at the CMO's bungalow to be told that the CMO, the DIO and others were happy that the resistance appeared to have been practically diffused and people seemed to be cooperative. The turnout at the booths was 25 to 30% higher than the corresponding figures for the previous NID. In the one hundred and odd villages covered by him the door to door vaccination went on smoothly without any untoward incidents being reported. Wherever there was resistance, it was successfully resolved by him and Dr. Ashok Agrawal. Some kind of reluctance still prevailed which the MOs in charge could handle. That was enough reason for one to get elated. Possibly God did not like this conceit.
The CMO realized that Dr. Amanullah had toiled through some hundreds of kilometers of dusty and muddy unsurfaced roads and village lanes with, at times knee deep, mixture of cow dung, buffalo urine and excreta, without any food for the past many days. This morning he had witnessed himself an episode of great tension being resolved by him. Dr. Amanullah had, immediately after leaving Jehangir Nagar, gone to yet another spot near Pilkhana on the National High way.
He was asked to a bite of rich sandwiches and hot coffee before he would retire to the private guest house in Noeda. He and the deputies, the WHO Surveillance Officers, UNESCO Coordinators and others were so keen to make him talk about the novel experience.
Hardly had he settled down after delivering a brief account of the exercise that day, CMO's mobile chimed.
His face suddenly became pale and he looked at Dr. Amanullah with a sense of acute fright. Extending the mobile to him he said in a trembling voice, "Doctor Sa'b, it appears that all is not well in Moradpur."
He took the phone. At the other end was Dr. Agrawal. His voice was not coming out clearly. The young medic appeared to be badly stricken with agony. Somehow he conveyed that he and his team of vaccinators numbering some fifteen persons including 4 or 5 women, were facing a tumultous mob in one of the gullies (bylanes) of Masjid Mandi, adjoining Eid Gah, in the Moradpur suburb. They needed help. And Dr. Agrawal wanted him to intervene. He had already turned down an offer of help by the Deputy Superintendent of Police which would have only infuriated the people.
The place was sixty km in the opposite direction. He had been there on the Friday last and the Imam of the Mandi Masjid had promised him all help and assured that everything would be fine and that there was no need for him to go again as the people, who listened to his speech and explanations in the Masjid after the Friday prayers, appeared so much convinced and had even volunteered to assist the vaccination team. Dr. Agrawal and the Dy. CMO were personally told by the local people that incidents which prevented them in the previous NIDs will not repeat!
