CM administers polio drops; buys woollens for children

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 21 January 2020 |Darjeeling: Away from her busy schedule, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent the day interacting with the local populace in Darjeeling on Tuesday. Known as being closely attached to children, she even administered polio vaccine drops to a child and bought pullovers for children during her morning walk.

The Chief Minister is currently on a visit to Darjeeling, after inaugurating the Uttarbanga Utsav in Siliguri on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister's schedule did not have any official programme. With the day opening on a bright note with clear blue sky and the majestic Kanchenjunga, the Chief Minister went out for her morning walk.

However, more than the walk it was interaction with the local populace that became her prime focus.

While interacting with a few local businessmen on Nehru Road at a stone's throw distance from the Darjeeling Mall, two nurses approached the Chief Minister and requested her to take part in a polio vaccine campaign that was underway.

The Chief Minister immediately called up the District Hospital officials and enquired if she could. Flanked by Dr Naushad Siddiqui, Medical Officer of the Darjeeling Municipality, she administered polio drops to Sahil Khan, a resident of Dr Zakir Hussain Bustee.

"I had flagged off the Pulse Polio campaign in 2011 by administering polio vaccine drops to kids in Kolkata. After that today I have again administered polio vaccine drops. It has been 8 long years," Banerjee reminisced.

A sizeable crowd had gathered to see the Chief Minister. "The polio vaccine week is on. We are visiting door-to-door to see if any child has missed his or her scheduled vaccine. We administer polio vaccine doses to such children," said Laxmi Sharma, one of the nurses.

"Seeing the Chief Minister we requested her to take part in the campaign. She readily agreed. It will be a major boost and will send out a very positive message," added Binita Subba, another nurse.

The Chief Minister then interacted with the people passing by and exchanged greetings. She also asked them if they were facing any problems and advised them to speak out their grievances fearlessly.

Banerjee also bought pullovers for children from the nearby shops, while interacting with them. She enquired about their business and how the tourist season fared this year. The Chief Minister then went around the Mall, taking stock of the ongoing beautification work.