4
This is a general statement, easy to make but difficult to prove; some
Vaccinators certainly are wanting in tact and integrity, but as the district staff
consists of only 7 men, they each have a very large number of villages in their
and the opposition would not be confined to a few villages only. It is well known
that the inhabitants of the more remote and " jungly " tracts of the Province
are always amenable to vaccination and it is very rarely that complaints of
opposition are received from Vaccinators in such places ; it is from the richer and
better educated classes that real opposition is met with, a little help from the
Tahsildar by way of enquiry from the objectors, has a great effect in pushing
vaccination and lessening opposition.
Every case of opposition reported by the Vaccinator of which no notice is
taken means subsequently increased difficulty in carrying out vaccination in the
area in question.
No explanation has been offered for the decrease during; the triennium in
the district of Betul, the Civil Surgeon remarks upon the difficulty experienced
in carrying out vaccination among the large contingent (about 30,000) of labour-
ers collected together for Railway construction. The Deputy Commissioner
notes that these people resented Census enquiries and preserve the same attitude
towards vaccination and are quite prepared to enforce their objections by violence.
I have addressed the Agent of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway upon the
subject. In the Feudatory States primary vaccinations amounted to 208,415
(69,105 in 1908-09, 63,981 in 1909-10, and 75,629 in 1910-11), i. e., an increase
of 29,116 over the figures of the preceding triennium.
Re- vaccinations.
12. Re-vaccinations by the Khalsa Vaccinators show a decrease of 1,430 during
the triennium (209,755 against 211,185 in the previous
period) due most probably to a diminished prevalence of
smallpox during the years 1909 and 1910. During the period the largest number
of re-vaccinations was done in the Seoni District (36,320), Narsinghpur and
Jubbulpore follow with 23,806 and 20,038, respectively In the other districts
less than 20,000 operations were done, Wardha and Balaghat returning very few.
During 1910-11, while the Saugor staff are able to perform over 5,000
re-vaccinations, in the neighbouring district of Damoh only 344 are performed ;
Narsinghpur does over 7,000, while Hoshangabad returns less than 1,000.
Wardha comes out worst in this respect, only 131 operations being
performed.
The Chhattisgarh Division, the second largest in point of population,
returns the smallest number of re-vaccinations, the Nagpur Division being very
little better ; of the 5 districts of the latter Division, Chanda is the only one in
which the figures are satisfactory. The Superintendents of Vaccination of these
districts have now been asked to pay particular attention to this question.
In the Feudatory States little or no progress has been made, the number
(17,222) of re-vaccinations performed during the triennium being practically
equal to that of the previous period.
During 1910-11, the State of Bastar, is the only one which shows any
activity in pushing this operation.
Finance
13. The total cost of the district vaccination establishment which was
Rs 65,994-0-7 in 1908-09, fell to Rs 61,184-6-10 in the
succeeding year, but rose again to Rs. 62,284-3-6 in the
past year. The increase in 1908-09 was chiefly due to compensation allowance
paid to the establishment for dearness of food-grains.
During the past year (1910-11) the increase has mainly occurred under the
heads " Salaries of Assistant Superintendents of Vaccination " and " Contingen-
cies." Under the former the additional Assistant Superintendents entertained at
Raipur, Bilaspur, Nagpur and Chanda increased the expenditure, while under the
latter head the settlement of some charges outstanding from 1909-10, and the
construction of a lymph depôt at Chanda contributed towards the increase. The
salaries of Vaccinators and of the menial establishment continued the same as in
the previous year.