BHOPAL/INDORE: The first batch of
Covid vaccine arrived to a celeb’s welcome in
Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, three days ahead of the nationwide rollout.
Over 2.7 lakh vaccine doses arrived in
Bhopal, Indore and
Jabalpur, and the process of transporting them to other districts began right away.
In Bhopal, which got 94,000 doses, people on bikes and cars trailed the
cavalcade carrying the
vaccines from the airport. The buzz on the street was ‘aa gaya!’
The administration had kept it under wraps and though people knew the vaccines would arrive on Wednesday, the exact time was kept confidential. Mediapersons hung around Bhopal airport since early morning and when an IndiGo flight touched down with the precious cargo just after 11am, a wave of excitement surged through the crowd. It took just eight minutes to offload the vaccines and put them in specially insulated vans.
And when the five vans set off, escorted by police vehicles, and trailed by a fleet of mediapersons, people on the street realised “it” was here. Some turned around and followed the vans just to be part of the excitement.
At the Kamla Park centre, where the vaccines were stored, a huge crowd gathered and swelled so quickly police had to be deployed as a precaution. “I have seen a family member die of Covid last year. For people like me, this vaccine is no less than
Sanjeevani. I was eager to see it,” said Dharam Lal, a shopkeeper.