May 11: When requests fall on deaf ears, a bit of arm-twisting comes in handy.

And if that arm-twisting is all for the worthwhile cause of eradicating polio from the country, the Sivasagar district administration certainly does not mind resorting to it.

At a gaon sabha in Desangpar panchayat yesterday, deputy commissioner K.K. Dwivedi learnt about an Adivasi woman, Phulmoni Bhuyan, who has been refusing to take her four-month-old child to the immunisation programmes held by the district administration.

An auxiliary-nurse-midwife who is in charge of creating awareness about child health in the area said Phulmoni shooed her away, saying she would not get her baby vaccinated till she received money under the Janani Suraksha Yojana.

This scheme, which was instituted to reduce maternal mortality rate and encourage institutional delivery among the poor, promises to provide financial assistance and antenatal care.

Although Phulmoni was taken care of by accredited social health activists during her pregnancy, she delivered her child at home.

But she has since been insisting that she be given the Janani Suraksha Yojana money as she had undergone all the mandatory pre-natal check-ups.

At the request of the deputy commissioner, Phulmoni was summoned before the gaon sabha, which included the DRDA project director and the circle officer.

Dwivedi, while gently persuading her to avail of the immunisation facilities, said the shots were a must if she wished to save her child from polio, diphtheria, measles and a host of other diseases.

When coaxing failed, the deputy commissioner said th-at the rice she has been buying at the rate of Rs 3 under the below poverty line plan would be stooped and she would be evicted from government-owned land if she refused to get her child vaccinated.

“The threat did wonders and the woman gave her consent to immunise her child. She was also given iron tablets and tonics since she herself was suffering from anaemia and weakness,” said Kamaleswar Neog, the joint director of health services of the district.

Neog also urged the people of the village to avail of the benefits of various other schemes of the health and family welfare department like free cataract operation, free tuberculosis medicines, leprosy medicines and the ambulance facility available at the public health centres.