Maharashtra: No Covid vaccine jab, no salary, says Thane civic body

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in Maharashtra has said its employees who have not taken even one dose of vaccine against COVID-19 will not be paid salaries.

The decision was taken on Monday during a meeting of senior TMC officials, including civic commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma and Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske.

According to an official release issued late Monday night, the civic employees who have not taken the first dose, will not be paid salaries.

The civic employees who have not taken their second vaccine dose within the stipulated period will also not get their salaries, the release said.

The TMC has made it compulsory for all civic employees to submit their vaccination certificates at their respective offices.

These measures are part of an effort to achieve the target of cent per cent vaccination in the city by this month-end, Mhaske told reporters after the meeting.

A massive vaccination drive has been initiated in the city, located adjoining Mumbai, from Tuesday to achieve the target of cent per cent vaccination, he said.

The mayor sought cooperation of the citizens in achieving the target and appealed to them to take the vaccine shots, and those who have taken one jab to take their second dose as well.

The TMC has made available different vaccination centres, including 'on-wheels' inoculation facilities and jumbo vaccination centres. Regular outreach camps are also being held in the city, he said.

In addition to this, under the 'Har Ghar Dastak' programme, health employees, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers and nurses will go door-to-door and collect details of those who have not taken the vaccine. Such people will be given the jabs, the official said.

A total of 167 teams have been formed for the purpose, he added.

Those who accompany patients to the civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj General Hospital at Kalwa here are required to produce their certificates establishing that they are fully vaccinated. Those who have not been inoculated so far will be given the jabs, the release said.

Besides, teachers of various schools and colleges have also been roped-in into to create awareness about the vaccination drive among students.

The students will in-turn pass on the message about the importance of vaccination to their parents, the release said.

The garbage collection vehicles moving in the city will also spread the message about the importance of vaccination, it said.

The mayor said it was a good sign that COVID-19 cases in the city were coming down, but every care should be taken that the infection does not rise, and the mega vaccination drive is the only solution for it.

On Sunday, Thane district reported 118 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count to 5,66,749, while one death raised the toll to 11,543, as per official data.