'Gravediggers yet to receive vaccines'
48-year-old Md Joban Ali, who is a gravedigger in the city’s Khilgaon graveyard, has buried as many as 191 Covid-19 infected and suspected bodies.
Although inoculation drive started in the country on 7 February, Joban Ali is yet to receive vaccine despite being a frontliner in the fight against Covid-19.
Joban Ali is not an exception, as none of 179 gravediggers of nine graveyards of two city corporations of Dhaka has received the vaccine, according to several gravediggers, staff and city corporation officials.
But some people have registered for the vaccine using the quota dedicated for persons involved with burial activities.
A research published by International Journal of Infectious Diseases on 9 March revealed that infection rate among the people involved with burial is 29.6 per cent. It could not be known, however, if any gravedigger of Dhaka city was infected with the coronavirus.
AM Jakir Hossain, a member of Bangladesh Health Watch’s executive committee and former director of IEDCR, told Prothom Alo that people involved with burial of those died from coronavirus are at high risk of infection.
Among the 9 graveyards, 6 are in Dhaka North City Corporation and the remaining 3 are in Dhaka South City Corporation. Apart from 179 gravediggers, 63 more staff work at these graveyards. While they work under city corporations, the gravediggers are not the corporations’ permanent staff.
Md Hannan, 55, works as a gravedigger at Ajimpur Graveyard for 25 years. He said they do not know how to register or where to go for taking Covid vaccine.
Rayerbazar graveyard’s gravedigger Siraj Bhiyan said the city corporation collected their names/ enlisted their names two months ago but none has informed them anything since then.
DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that gravediggers are not permanent employees of the city corporation. But directives are being given so that gravediggers are not left out from vaccination, he added.
There are 21 categories of priority on the government’s vaccine registration platform 'Surokkha' website and app. One of these categories is ‘people involved with burial or cremation of dead’.
Preferring not to be named, a person, who is not a gravedigger, told Prothom Alo that he took Covid vaccine on 20 February after registering from the quota dedicated for the gravediggers. At least nine of his acquainted persons took Covid vaccine this way, the person added.
A senior official of a private bank said at least four persons of his office registered for the vaccine using the quota dedicated for others.
Asked about the matter, Directorate General of Health Services’ spokesperson Robed Amin said there were some discrepancies in the process of registration for vaccine at the beginning.
Now it is not possible to hide ones’ identity during registration now, he added.
Robed also said the gravediggers would get priority in vaccine registration.
He said if there is any any organisation of the gravediggers and if they inform the MIS of DGHS, they would be given the vaccine. The city corporations can also take the initiative.
*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Galib Ashraf.