Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee administers polio drops to a child in Calcutta. Picture by Pabitra Das

Calcutta, July 4: Day I of the renewed statewide pulse polio campaign got off to a wobbly start today after several villages boycotted it, protesting against the lack of basic amenities.

The health department has set out to administer the vaccine to 95 lakh children across Bengal over three days, with emphasis on districts such as Murshidabad and Malda, dominated by minority communities.

Over 120 children could not be immunised in Burdwan as residents of Kurmun-Chandrapur village demanded regular power supply first. “In the morning, it was noticed that villagers weren’t taking their children to polio booths. Even panchayat intervention did not succeed,” district magistrate Subrata Gupta said.

The villagers appeared unfazed. “We have been demanding electricity for a long time. State electricity board officials even inspected the area some time back, but there has been no progress,” an elderly woman of Kurmun-Chandrapur said.

“We know this polio boycott doesn’t guarantee power supply, but this is our way of lodging a protest,” she said.

Maniknagar village in Nadia, too, employed the same tactic over similar demands. Prabash Chowdhury, the chief municipal officer of health, led a team of eight to the area in the afternoon to pacify the villagers.

“The people were refusing immunisation, complaining about the lack of roads, schools and high schools and primary health centres. Around 3 pm, parents of some children relented. Drops could be administered to about half the targeted 350 children,” Chowdhury said.

Tribals of Beladihi village in West Midnapore, too, dug their heels in over power and better roads till sub-divisional officer Shakil Ahmed pacified them. The scene was repeated at Gobardhanpur village of East Midnapore till 4 pm. Subrata Dutta, the municipal health officer, denied the boycott.

Polio-affected child Sheikh Aslam’s campaign made the drive a success at Pathanmollah. As many as 85 per cent of the targeted children were immunised in Howrah.