Vaccine van held up as TMC minister blocks highway over farm laws

A special vehicle carryingCOVID-19 vaccines got held up on Wednesday in West Bengal'sPurba Bardhaman district due to a blockade of the nationalhighway led by state minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury,protesting against the new farm laws, sources said.

Purba Bardhaman's Superintendent of Police BhaskarMukhopadhyay said that the vaccine-carrying insulated van wasdiverted over a distance of five km through a village owing tothe blockade of the national highway, connecting Kolkata andNew Delhi, at the Galsi area.

The delay in the movement of the vehicle was for thetime taken to cover the five km distance through the village,he said.

Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the vehiclehad to traverse village roads for a distance of 20 kms beforeit could be brought back to the national highway again.

The van, which was being piloted by the West BengalPolice, was on its way to Bankura and Purulia to deliver thevaccines.

After leaving the state government's vaccine store inKolkata, the vehicle delivered 31,500 vaccines at PurbaBardhaman district health office and was on its way to deliverthe life-saving vaccines to Bankura and Purulia when itsonward journey was stopped at around 10 am owing to theblockade, despite a green corridor having been arranged by thepolice for its smooth and fast movement, sources said.

Chowdhury, the state library services minister, saidhe was not aware of the movement of the vaccine van andcleared the road once it was brought to his notice that thevehicle was held up, but by that time it was already diverted.

PTI COR AMRSOM SOM