During the pandemic, G. Venketarama Rao (92) and V. Ramadevi (80) have treated their home as their world, with the gate signifying its outer limit. While Rama Rao busies himself with repairing devices around the home — examples include a timepiece and a radio — Ramadevi is too immersed in household chores to bother about what lies outside their small world.
The only time the couple decided to put a toe out of their home on First Main Road in Thiruvengada Nagar in Ambattur Old Town (OT) was when members of Thiruvengada Nagar Residents Welfare Association knocked at their door and requested their son to allow his parents to attend the mass vaccination camp organised by the Association together with
health officials of Zone - 7 of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), in March 2021.
Venketarama Rao, who retired from BPCL decades ago. and his wife took the first dose of their vaccination, and subsequently at another similarly organised camp, their second dose.
The association building, built when the neighbourhood was formed in 1962-63, was the venue for the mass vaccination camp.
Over 400 families benefited from the initiative. A significant number of seniors were among the beneficiaries. The Association also motivated the 12 GCC conservancy staff to get vaccinated.
“Corporation health officials actively supported our initiative by providing adequate staff for the camps,” says S. Suresh, secretary, Thiruvengada Nagar Residents Welfare Association in Ambattur.
“Such Association-driven camps help GCC cover a good number of residents. So, we actively support such initiatives from residents,” says Dr. Sheela, Zonal Health Officer, Zone - 7 (Ambattur), GCC.
Most of the residents are employed in government sectors and industrial units at Pattaravakkam, Athipet and Ambattur. The neighbourhood is located between Ambattur and Korattur lakes.
It is noteworthy that a few months ago, families in the locality together mobilised Rs 1.22 lakh as contribution to Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.