In a special drive, residents in Kalinjur Mottur, a small village in Katpadi, were vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Junior Red Cross Katpadi circle office on Wednesday.
The was jointly organised by the Vellore Corporation, School Education Department and Junior Red Cross (Vellore).
Located near Palar river in Katpadi, Kalinjur Mottur village was once a panchayat before it was merged with the Vellore Corporation, which has 60 wards, many years ago.
Wage labourers
Most residents in the neighbourhood are beedi workers and wage labourers. They depend on the lone beedi factory in Viruthampet, a neighbourhood village along the river, for work.
The Mottur village has more than 2,000 residents with a sizable population of senior citizens. “Initially, many residents were hesitant to vaccinate themselves. After continuous awareness by civic officials, they took the jab at the special camp,” said S.N. Janarthanan, District Convener, Junior Red Cross.
More than 200 residents got vaccinated at the camp, which was inaugurated by the Chief Education Officer (CEO) G. Gunasekaran and District Education Officer (DEO) M. Angulakshmi.