Vaccines being transported via tractor in Mustang

Vaccine supply has witnessed big trouble in the trans-Himalayan district, Mustang. With a regular vehicular movement coming to a halt following disaster-triggered road blockage, a tractor had to be used to transport the anti-COVID vaccine.

On July 13, the Lomanthang Rural Municipality of the district made the vaccine supply arrangement in a tractor and administered the second dose to its senior citizens.

The swollen Panda rivulet troubled the transportation of vaccines from the district headquarters of Jomsom. Rural Municipality's chief administrative officer Nawaraj Bhandari shared that a tractor was alternatively used to transport the vaccines after an ambulance carrying vaccines got disrupted in the Manda rivulet nearby Kagbeni

"The ambulance could not cross the swollen rivulet", Bhandari said, adding that transportation of vaccine held for two days before a tractor was used to safely cross the roaring rivulet.

Health Coordinator of Lomanthang rural municipality, Tenzing Norbu Gurung himself took the vaccines to the local level in a tractor.

"There are no troubles in upper Mustang. But, rivulets flowing through Kagbeni are creating problems in transportation", Bhandari added.

He further said, "We adopted various alternative arrangements to transport the vaccines to the rural municipality".

Earlier too, health workers got the vaccines crossed the flood-fed rivulet in Mustang with the help of logs. A media report revealing the blues of Mustang in the transportation of vaccines went viral.

The Pokhara-based Health Directorate had made public a content revealing the supply of vaccines by the health workers of Mustang via tractor in its social media.

At a time when the vaccine campaign is gaining its ground across the country, the trans-Himalayan district has come across a tale of frustrating transportation. The transport woes have resulted in a delay of inoculation in the district when coronavirus has already taken a toll on human life.