Desperate villagers clash at Bihar health centre over getting vax

Patna:  In a bid to get the anti-corona jab, villagers fought with each other, sparking a massive clash at a primary health centre of Aurangabad’s Dev block in Bihar on Saturday. Eyewitnesses said more than 850 people turned out at a single health centre in the hope of getting the vaccination.

“The villagers of Dev and adjoining areas came to the health centre and formed a long queue outside. Soon, they became out of control in absence of police personnel and began pushing one another. Moreover, a group of people tried to jump into the queue which eventually turned into a massive fight between them,” said Sunil Kumar, a villager of Dev.

He said that 12 village panchayats fall under the Dev block and a majority of the villlagers come to the centre to get the vaccine.

 “The scare of corona has made people scared and desperate. The villagers kicked and punched each other in a bid to enter the centre in a gross violation of Covid protocols. It was complete chaos at the centre,” said Rajeshwar Singh, the village head of Dev.

 “The doctors of the hospital informed us about the incident. We immediately sent a police team to the centre and calmed the villagers down. Some of the villagers have been injured in this incident,” said a sub-inspector rank officer requesting anonymity.