SMC holds meetings with Muslim community members to push vaccination

Surat: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has started undertaking various activities to spread awareness among the Muslim community about Covid-19 vaccination considering the significantly low number of people from Muslim community taking the vaccine in the city. Around 1.60 lakh people have been vaccinated in Surat till now; out of which the proportion of Muslims is less than 0.2 percentage.

Looking at this scenario, SMC is conducting meetings with community leaders, social-workers, police officers, doctors from the trust-hospitals of Muslim community, local authorities etc. to raise awareness. It is to be noted that the vaccination facility is already made available at Lokhat Hospital and Zainab Hospital and permission for opening a vaccination center at Sufi Hospital and Memon Hall is expected to be given within a couple of days.

A meeting was held at Memon hall in Chowk Bazar in the city on Thursday in the presence of Dr Fenil Patel and Dr. Chetan Choksi from health-department of SMC, ACP Chavda, Lalgate PI UA Dabhi, trusties of the trust-hospitals of Muslim community, prominent Muslim leaders, doctors, social workers and NGOs. Former Mayor of Surat Kadir Pirzada, who himself took the vaccine to inspire others threw light on the importance and need of getting vaccinated while addressing the meeting.

Another meeting with Muslim religious leaders and prominent persons of the community from the city was held at Rander Zone Office at 11.30 AM on Thursday in the leadership of SMC Mayor Ms. Hemali Boghawala and in the presence of Municipal Commissioner of SMC Banchha Nidhi Pani for same purpose.