Only inoculated people can buy grocery, fuel: Aurangabad issues order to boost vaccination

In order to boost the vaccination drive in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, the district administration has come up with a unique solution, as the district collector passed an order stating that only vaccinated people will be able to purchase groceries, ration, gas cylinders and fuel in the district.

The order stated that only those who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to make purchases in the district, after providing their vaccination certificate.

Only vaccinated individuals can buy groceries, fuel & gas in Aurangabad

The officials on Wednesday informed that the decision was approved by the district collector, Sunil Chavan, on Tuesday night, where the authorities of the fair price shops, gas agencies, and petrol pump managers were directed to check the vaccination certificates of customers and then sell the products to those who were at least vaccinated with one dose.

The order further instructed the sellers to ensure strict compliance with the instructions and said that strict action would be taken if found flouting the same.

Speaking on the same, Aurangabad Collector Chavan said, "If the order is not followed, the administration will take action against the person/s concerned under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act," he said.

Earlier, the collector had passed an order to dismiss unvaccinated people from visiting tourist destinations and historic monuments in Aurangabad. The decision was announced after the vaccination figures of the district were found to be low. The collector had then placed a ban on the entry of unvaccinated individuals, in order to push them to take the jab.

Other measures to boost vaccination in Aurangabad

While speaking to PTI on the same, an official told that the administration had also extended the vaccination drive in the state to evenings, in order to provide people with more time to get jabbed. The official added the decision was taken after considering that most of the people in the state worked in fields during the day.

"Many people work in agricultural fields from morning to evening. Hence, to facilitate their inoculation, the Zilla Parishad will undertake vaccination from 5 pm to 8 pm in the district," the Zilla Parishad's health officer Sudhakar Shekle told PTI.

According to the health official, the first such campaign was held on Tuesday in Kaygaon village, which is located on the Aurangabad-Ahmednagar district border, and 100 doses were administered to people. The Aurangabad district administration has taken significant measures to improve the pace of the vaccination in the area as only 55% of the eligible population has been vaccinated so far, as compared to 74% in the entire state. At present, Aurangabad ranks 26th in terms of vaccination among 36 districts in the state.

With PTI Inputs

Image: ANI