A 4km trek up Niyamgiri to vaccinate Dongria Kondhs

KORAPUT: An eight-member team comprising an ANM worker and officials from the Odisha PVTG (particularly vulnerable tribal group) empowerment and livelihood improvement programme (OPELIP) trudged at least four kilometers to reach the remote and inaccessible Hingabadi village on the Niyamgiri hills under Bissamkatak block on Wednesday to vaccinate the Dongria Kondhs.
The team conducted health screening of all the 32 Dongira Kondh families living in the village during their two-hour stay while 13 eligible people above 45 years were given their first vaccine dose.
“None of the villagers had any Covid symptoms or health complications. The villagers were urged to strictly follow Covid-19 guidelines to remain safe from the virus,” said Sudarshan Padhi, project manager of OPELIP who visited the village.
Padhi said it was not easy to trek the Niyamgiri hills with medicines and vaccines under the sweltering heat. The team started its journey for the village at around 11 am and it took a little over an hour to reach the village.
“We stayed at the village for nearly two hours and observed the health condition of those who had been vaccinated. Also, medicines were distributed among the villagers against fever and they were asked to take it, if required,” Padhi said.
Rayagada district collector Saroj Kumar Mishra said the administration will be taking more such outreach initiatives in the remote and inaccessible areas of the district to strengthen its fight against Covid.
“The administration is committed to provide healthcare facilities to the remotest area of the district. Already, over 600 Dongria Kondhs have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and in the coming days more such villages inhabited by the community will be covered under the vaccination programme,” Mishra said.
As many as 9,597 Dongria Kondhs from 2,461 families reside in 102 villages on the Niyamgiri hills spread across Bissamkatak, Kalyansinghpur and Muniguda blocks of Rayagada district. The community that had remained untouched during the first wave of Covid-19 has reported over 100 positive cases in the second wave.
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