Coimbatore: People who turned up for tokens to get vaccinated at three corporation schools in the city scuffled with the officials on Tuesday morning, as the civic body apparently distributed only less than 70 tokens while the schools were allocated 100 doses.Corporation officials, however, said the scuffles were politically motivated and they had administered all the 100 doses in each of the vaccination centres.At the corporation primary school at Vellakinar, a group of women and men were seen shouting at a sanitation supervisor and police constable, who was posted there to control the crowd, around 7.15am for distributing only 64 tokens.Viji, a resident of Thudiyalur, said they were waiting in the queue since 4.30am to get tokens for the jab.
“At 6.30am, the police constable asked the men and women to stand in separate queues of 45 people each, as 10 tokens were already issued to the corporation health department staff.
At 7am, the sanitation supervisor distributed just 64 tokens and tried to leave the spot.”Immediately, the crowd surrounded him and the police constable, asking what happened to 26 of the 90 tokens that they said were available.
“Many people had taken leave from work to get inoculated on the day.
So, it was not appropriate from the part of the city corporation to turn away people without distributing all the 100 tokens,” said Azhar, who didn’t get the token, despite being the 34th member in the queue.Things weren’t any different at the corporation schools at KK Pudur and Cheranmanagar, where gates were closed at 6.45am, asking people to come after two to three days even for the second shot of Covishield.
“Some DMK men allowed only people with local addresses to get the tokens,” said a photographer, who visited the school at Cheranmanagar.
Tokens had exhausted at KK Pudur too by 7am.City corporation officials said all the 100 doses allotted per school were administered on the day.
The vaccination drive is being held at 43 schools.
Dr S Raja, city health officer, said they were not reserving any doses for the health staffers, as they were all already inoculated.Corporation officials said the scuffles, which mainly occurred at extended parts of north and east zones, were politically motivated.