KATHMANDU: Retired Indian Gurkha soldiers living in Nepal have written to Indian Chief of Army Staff General M.M. Naravane, seeking his help in facilitating and prioritizing Covid-19 vaccines for their community.
Stating that 150 Indian Gurkha soldiers lost their lives for want of vaccines and that the governments of both the countries had not prioritized them in vaccination, the community of retired Indian Gurkha soldiers wrote the letter, requesting 300,000 doses of vaccines at the earliest.
The letter, dispatched last week, was addressed to the Indian Army Chief Naravane and the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) central organization. The letter said that fatal casualties in the community could rise in the absence of vaccination.
The letter pointed out that while the ECHS was providing vaccines to retired soldiers and their dependents through ECHS polyclinics in India, retired Indian Gorkha soldiers in Nepal were yet to get even the first vaccine dose.
The letter also stated that about 300,000 doses of vaccine, for now, would suffice to save the lives of retired Indian Gurkha soldiers and their families in Nepal.
Comment