In pictures: Mannequin protest over vaccination delays

An unusual protest was held in the middle of Mahawewa Town yesterday where placards were hung from mannequins alleging that the Puttalam District was receiving step-motherly treatment in the country's vaccination drive. 

The placard carrying mannequins were placed around the clock tower in the middle of Mahawewa Town. They accused politicians in the district for the delay in getting the Puttalam district's population vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The placards charged that vaccination was being delayed due to political "donkeys" in the district. 

The protest was organized by Nandana Munasinghe, a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) member of the Nattandiya Pradeshiya Sabha. He claimed that vaccination was lagging in the Puttalam district and many of those in the high risk age group of over 60 years were yet to be fully vaccinated. "They vaccinate about 3000-4000 persons in one place in the district and then wait several months for the next batch of vaccines to arrive. Politicians in the district must take full responsibility for this," he claimed. 

However, the Puttalam District Director General of Health Services Dr Dinusha Fernando rejected the allegations, saying they were politically motivated. "We have fully vaccinated about 300, 000 persons in the distrct. Only about 150, 000 remain to be vaccinated," she said. 

However, reports from many areas in the district say that the vaccination is yet to take place in these areas. 

Text and Pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe in Puttalam