Poonch, June 18: The vaccination teams of the Health department were escorted by Army on Friday to reach Kirni village of Poonch located ahead of a barbed wire fence on the Line of Control (LoC) where Covid-19 vaccination drive was launched.
Village Kirni falling under Poonch Haveli tehsil is one of the villages in the district located ahead of the LoC.
Being located ahead of the fence, it is regarded as “hyper sensitive” due to larger apprehensions of cross-LoC firing as well as landmine explosions.
“The vaccination in such areas is always a risk as officials have to brave not only the apprehensions of cross-LoC firing but also the explosions due to anti-personnel landmines or IEDs that are mostly planted in such areas ahead of the fence,” officials said.
They said that through the appropriate channel, the matter was discussed with the Army after which a team of the Health department escorted by the Army personnel reached the village on Friday.
“Special teams of the Army escorted the vaccination teams. Escorting Army personnel took all security measures like area clearance, dominance and provided security blanket from all four-sides,” officials said.
They said that a number of eligible citizens in this Kirni village were inoculated.
In its official statement, the Army said that its personnel led a civil medical team into forward areas ahead of the Anti Infiltration Obstacles System (barbed wire fence) to facilitate vaccination-drive in village Kirni in Poonch.
“The vaccination drive was successfully carried out in collaboration with J&K civil Health department authorities,” the Army said.
It said that 20 beneficiaries aged between 18 to 45 years got their first dose.
The village women and elderly, who could not visit the Poonch town, were vaccinated at their doorsteps by the team.