HT Correspondent
SIVASAGAR, June 16: The ONGC Assam Asset under the guidance of corporate management got in touch with the reputed hospital chains across India and has decided to spend Rs 1.5 crore in procuring Covid vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin).
This initiative helped Baby Baruah Dutta (26) and others who live in remote interior villages. Dutta lives in a small nondescript village near Nazira, in Sivasagar. She has limited access to technology but she had heard about Covid-19 and was very scared. Despite the best efforts she could not register her name for vaccination through the formal channel.
ONGC is deeply committed to help hundreds like her in remote villages in and around its operational areas. ONGC Assam Asset has been extending its helping hands to the needy and the deprived ones like Baby Baruah at times of the pandemic Covid 19, an official said.
Vaccination teams were mobilised from Guwahati and Dibrugarh. Camps were set up in Nazira and Sivasagar.
Logistics and other arrangements were made to get Baby Baruah Dutta and many others like her vaccinated. The vaccination programme began on June 4 and will continue till June 30.
After getting the jab recently Baby Baruah and her friends smiled, whose smile was like the hallmark of ONGC’s commitment to development of the region and the state, a PR statement stated.
Assam Asset began the vaccination drive to inoculate every individual associated with ONGC, including secondary and contractual workforce, security staff, school staff, employees, retired employees and family members of all these individuals.
Following the protocols of the Assam government, only Rapid Antigen Test negative individuals are administered the jab. Besides, their other health related parameters are also checked and recorded before administering the vaccine.
The Asset has till date vaccinated almost 3,000 individuals with the youngest beneficiary being Nilutpal Duwari aged 18 years and the oldest Jugendra Nath aged 85 years. Plans are afoot to vaccinate at least ten thousand more in a couple of weeks, the PR further stated.
The drive has been led by ED-Asset manager RK Sharma. District authorities are rendering storage facilities for ONGC’s vaccination drive.