Residents of three villages located near the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Nadia district have boycotted polio vaccination of over 400 children protesting alleged oppression by BSF personnel, health officials said on Tuesday.
Residents of Rangiarponta, Mahakhola and Hudapara villages located near an unfenced section of the border have boycotted the drive and had stopped a health department vehicle which had gone to administer polio drops, district Chief Medical Officer of Health Aparesh Bandopadhyay said.
"They have boycotted the week-long drive since it began on January 19. We have been trying to convince the villagers that this is not the correct way to protest by putting their children at risk. But, they have turned a deaf ear to our requests," he said.
The 400 children were routinely administered polio vaccination in previous drives, the health official said.
Maheshpur gram panchayat pradhan Nemai Sadhukhan, under whose jurisdiction the three villages fall, said, "The BSF often hinders their free movement which often creates unwanted situations. So, the villagers protested by boycotting polio vaccination drive."
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