Around 20 Konkani Muslim families residing in Taloja village do not get their kids vaccinated as it might lead to impotency
Mumbai Mirror, August 17
Thirty-one kids residing in Taloja village, located 70 kms from Mumbai, have not been vaccinated for polio, thereby becoming a major cause for concern for the Raighad district administration. Several attempts on the part of the administration have not yielded any results as families believe that their kids would become impotent if they take the doses.
Dominated by Konkani Muslims, the village has 31 such kids who have not been immunised at all. There are many others who do not take the doses on regular basis. Other than impotency, locals point out that “when there is no disease why should kids be given medicines”. “The fact is that as of now the kids do not have any problem as such. Nobody has ever been affected by polio, so why take the dose,” argues Asif Patel, whose extended family alone has 11 kids who have not been immunised. He justifies his family’s opposition to the vaccination by adding that in the long run the doses might have some effects on the kids. “They might not be able to reproduce,” he added.
Religious leaders, who play a very important role in the village and have a say in almost everything that locals do, are not doing anything to help the district administration. They point out that the administration must first take care of immediate problems like clean water supply, sanitation, among others, before expecting any help. “Most people here believe that their kids would get impotent if they are vaccinated. Also some believe that when none of the kids who have not been vaccinated have contracted polio, then why bother. While we do not believe in this rubbish we firmly believe that the administration must look at issues like water, sanitation, health services, before expecting us to convince families to vaccinate their kids,” said Maulana Umar Hanif, a member of Ulema Committee in the area.
Till a month ago there were 38 kids from the village who had not been vaccinated. Recently, the district collector, Seema Vyas, visited the village and managed to convince parents of seven kids to get them immunised. “The kids who have not been immunised are not only prone to get the disease but are also a threat to the entire area. If at all a case of polio crops up in the area, all the kids in the village and neighbouring areas run the risk of getting infected,” said Ramesh Surwade, resident deputy collector of Raigadh district.
While the administration is trying its best to somehow convince the parents, they don’t seem to be budging. The authorities have now sought help from locals who get their kids vaccinated. “We will try our best to make them understand the importance of vaccination but there’s a limit to which we can push,” said a helpless Shafiq Patel, member of Taloja Gram Panchayat. Till such time that the orthodox community residing in Taloja village does not shed its inhibitions, 31 kids, and may be many more, continue to live on the edge.
Terrific stuff…did this make it to the newspaper or not?