Vaccination has started for senior citizens from March 1 and though there are several private options where the shots are available at a cost of Rs 250, a significant section of residents of the twin townships is trusting the government facilities.

The Telegraph Salt Lake takes a tour of Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital and NKDA Covid Vaccination Centre, the two government sites in Salt Lake and New Town respectively that have been providing the service to senior citizens since the start, and tracks how the arrangements have improved at both places as the administration learnt from experience over the first 10 days.

NKDA Covid Vaccination Center

Where: Action Area IID (on the road opposite Greenwood Elements, near Tank 12. Take a right turn from the Major Arterial Road at the first crossing after Akankha More when approaching from the Eco Park side)

When: 9am to 4pm (reporting by 3.30pm) Though the site welcomed senior citizens, including unregistered walk-ins, right from Day 1, i.e. March 1, when vaccination started for the elderly and those above 45 years with comorbidities, it is from Day 4 that attendance started picking up. So much so that last week, about 70 senior citizens turned up together one day without appointment, leading to chaos. Since then, the authorities have been urging people to register on the New Town helpline 18001037652 and take an appointment before going.

“There was no shamiana. It was hot. The Co-Win portal was crashing. There were some initial hiccups,” said NKDA chairman Debashis Sen.

The authorities have taken measures to rectify the problems. There is ample seating space now, both at the ground floor level where a cover has been provided and drinking water is being served, and on the first floor where people are being allowed up in small numbers once some get the vaccine and leave.

The biggest benefit is the option to register by simply calling the helpline at any time. “While the Co-Win portal only indicates first half or second half of the day for a slot, for bookings on the helpline we are giving hourly slots so that waiting time is minimal,” said an NKDA official.

“We could not have registered if the helpline was not there,” said Santanu Mukherjee, a senior citizen from AC Block, on Tuesday. “We are registered for the 12-1pm slot.”

The NKDA helpline is being flooded with calls. “Earlier they received 30-40 calls, now there are about 900 calls every day. The call centre staff were overwhelmed. The call centre had to multiple the staff strength by four times. Now we are asking people to leave a missed call 24x7. The staff are calling back in due course and providing a slot,” said Sen.

When The Telegraph Salt Lake visited the centre on Tuesday, there were two queues — one for the registered, be it through Co-Win or the helpline, and the other for walk-ins. Due to technical glitches, some of those registered were also being shifted to the unregistered queue, like in case of East Enclave resident Tarun Goswami who had received a slot on registration. But the registered name could not be found on the list with the officials at the desk.

A senior citizen with a walking stick climbs up the stairs at the NKDA Covid Vaccination Center in New Town. Sudeshna Banerjee

“What can we do if the names do not show up in the printouts we have got for the day or on the portal itself when we are checking upstairs?” an official said. But since the shift is just from one table to the next or from one room to another next door, the beneficiaries did not mind. A third vaccination room was started on Tuesday to speed up the process.

Intermittently, a nurse was announcing the contra-indications over the microphone downstairs, which included getting Covid-19 in the last month and half, being lactating or pregnant, taking any other vaccine within the last 30 days and having any kind of drug allergies. “We want people to come fully fit. So those with fever, cough or cold at the moment are also being discouraged. But please consult your doctor if you have specific doubts,” she said, on being quizzed further.

“Great arrangement,” said Kartik Chandra Chatterjee, a 77-year-old from Greenwood Elements as he sat watching TV in the observation room with his wife Reba, 72. Each person has to wait for half an hour to check for post-vaccine contra indications.

AtishchandraSinha and his wife Rina had walked in at 8.20pm from neighbouring Alaktika Housing Complex, before the process had started. A civic volunteer gave us serial numbers of 4 and 5. It was a smooth process,” he said while walking out at 11.10am after a chat with a neighbour. Automatic token generators were introduced on Wednesday to maintain the sequence of reporting.

The only complaint came from those with foot problems. “If only they had a lift,” moaned SupriyaChakraborty, a 77-year-old from NBCC Vibgyor, as she balanced her walking stick, pleats of her sari and the railings of the stairs.

S.R. Das and Tapati Das could reach the first floor only because their son aided them. “I have varicose vein. I cannot get up easily once I sit down,” said the 79-year-old from Uniworld City who has had an open heart surgery. His wife Tapati has had a knee replacement.

Also in the queue were nurses from Bhagirathi Neotia Woman and Child Care Centre in New Town. “There are 15 of us. This will be our second dose,” smiled Amrita Barik.

Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital

Where: DD Block, Salt Lake

When: 9am to 4pm

The facility which is the cold chain point supplying vaccines to all the centres in Salt Lake is also vaccinating possibly the highest number of people in the subdivision now. The hospital was seeing snaking queues of polling personnel and police from the beginning of the month. “We vaccinated 798 people on Wednesday and 853 the day before,” said superintendent Partha Pratim Guha.

On the first few days, the two queues — of polling personnel and police on one hand and senior citizens on the other — were standing parallely in the same corridor. This was causing inconvenience to both sides. The senior citizens complained of the other queue being a boisterous one, including many without masks. Sikha Mukherjee, a 72-year-old from BF Block, came at 12.20pm and on seeing the length of the queue went home for lunch. “We returned at 3.10pm,” she said at 4pm.

then and now: Senior citizens stand in queue next to the queue of polling personnel and police at Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital last Friday. Picture by Sudeshna Banerjee. (Below) The current seating arrangement in air-conditioned space on the second floor for senior citizens

With the vaccinating point being the same for both queues, they were being called alternately in small numbers. “The elderly people stay close by whereas we are coming from afar. Why can’t they be vaccinated separately without delaying our queue? I came at 10.30am. All of us missed lunch. One who went out to eat missed his turn as they gave out tokens at that point,” Kalpana Biswas, a Jalsampad Bhavan employee. Arunima Roy, who works in AG Block, had a chocolate bar for lunch. “I was carrying it since I am a diabetic,” she said. It was 4.30pm then. The slow Co-Win portal was not helping either.

The hospital authorities realised the problem and shifted the vaccination of the elderly to the recently opened CCU unit on the second floor from Sunday. While downstairs there was little scope to sit till one was called inside, the space upstairs has an air-conditioned waiting area with television. And since the hospital has an elevator, the floor is not a cause for worry for the elderly.

An octogenarian takes the jab at Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital. Sudeshna Banerjee

“Seeing the long queue, many of the polling personnel were returning without taking the vaccine and then refusing to take on poll duty. So we had to act fast,” said a hospital official. Queues for the polling personnel and the police are separate now.

“We are stuck at home for a year. I took the vaccine so that we can return to normal life,” said Debamitra Das, an 81-year-old from FE Block.