Special vaccination drive begins for auto, taxi drivers in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The special vaccination drive for the auto-rikshaw, cab, taxi and maxi cab drivers in the city began on Thursday, targeting the high-risk groups in the present pandemic season. This will continue for 20 days at a stretch.

An estimated two lakh commercial drivers will be vaccinated in ten centers within the GHMC region under an effort initiated by the Telangana government. The State Road Transport department arranged all the facilities for the vaccination of this category.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar visited the vaccination centre at Raj Bhavan High School along with special chief secretary Sunil Sharma, Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar, secretary to health Rizvi, transport commissioner MRM Rao and Hyderabad collector Sweta Mohanty. 

Officials said all the licensed drivers will have to register themselves on the website of the transport department to avail this special vaccination facility. They will receive a message on the mobile number. Only those drivers who received the message will be allowed in at the vaccination centers. 

The registration of the drivers in the Cowin portal will be done at the vaccination centre and no walk-in will be allowed.
 

Deputy transport commissioner Papa Rao, who is nodal officer for this drive, said more than a lakh of auto drivers and 70,000 drivers of cabs and maxi cab driving in the GHMC region.”
 

The GHMC stated on Thursday that as a part of the second phase of the fever survey, 1404 teams have visited 83,802 houses, 16,720 persons have been tested in hospitals for the fever, and in total, 13, 87,661 homes have been visited for the fever survey and 4,85,291 persons have been tested in the hospitals for the fever so far.

On Thursday, during this lockdown, 74,420 persons have been distributed free food by Annapurna Canteens of the GHMC.