April 15, 2021

 

Tika Utsav: PM Modi begins the ‘vaccine festival’ to curb the surge of coronavirus

The number of coronavirus infections in India is constantly increasing, and the outbreak even led to a vaccine shortage. In a bid to combat the surge in coronavirus cases, India will observe a four-day ‘vaccine festival’ or Tika Utsav in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a virtual meeting with the chief ministers on Thursday, said that this festival must be celebrated from April 11-14 to inoculate a maximum number of people. 

The first day of the vaccine festival i.e. April 11 marks the birth anniversary of social activist Jyotiba Phule and April 14 (the last day of the festival) marks the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar. “We should vaccinate as many eligible people as possible through a special campaign and decide on zero wastage. If there is zero wastage in four days during ‘Tika Utsav’, it will also increase our vaccination capacity,” PM Modi said. 

Here’s How The States Responded To Vaccine Festival

Several states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were in support of the initiative, reports suggest that some leaders of the opposition criticized it. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government kickstarted the ‘Tika Utsav’ with 6000 vaccination centres in the state. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar aims to vaccinate nearly four lakh people during the festival.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government questioned the idea of the ‘vaccine festival’ as the State is rapidly shutting down due to a shortage of vaccines in the state. While Nana Patole, chief of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) believes that ramping up the vaccination drive is the need of the hour, how the worst-hit state can run a successful drive if they don’t have enough doses. 

Source: https://www.thehealthsite.com/news