The May salaries of state government employees in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district will be withheld if they don’t get at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine in the next three days, the administration has decreed.

The anti-Covid vaccination drive is not compulsory anywhere in the country.

Charchit Gaur, the chief development officer of the district, told reporters on Wednesday the decision was taken after it was found that many employees were not getting vaccinated.

He said district magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh had issued an oral order as enough vaccine doses were available in government hospitals.

“We noticed that employees of many government departments had not got themselves vaccinated. So the DM ordered that the department heads of Firozabad take action against those employees who were not taking interest in vaccination. The HoDs will ensure that such employees don’t receive their salaries for May till they get the first dose of vaccine,” Gaur said.

The employees have been asked to submit proof of vaccination within three days.

Gaur said a positive message would be sent across to the society if government employees got themselves inoculated, and people in general would take vaccines in large numbers.

An education department employee in the district said his office had received a vaccination notice signed by the district probation officer.

“I will go to the nearest vaccination centre on Thursday,” the employee said.

Anil Kumar, a block development officer who visited a vaccination centre in Firozabad city on Wednesday, said: “I didn’t take the vaccine earlier because I was on medication for an illness. Today, I am here for the vaccine. I believe our bosses have taken a good decision to make the country corona-free.”