Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday went to a tribal village and personally greeted 105-year-old Tara Kanya Debbarma, who recently received a COVID vaccine jab.
Deb, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare Department, went to Brahmachhera tribal village under Matabari rural development block in southern Tripura's Gomati district and spent some time with the centenarian tribal woman.
"The Chief Minister was thrilled on hearing that the 105-year-old woman had voluntarily agreed to take the COVID vaccine shot. And [he] immediately decided to visit her residence personally and to greet her for joining in the vaccination drive," the Chief Minister's Office said.
"Met Tarakanya Debbarma of Brahmacherra. The 105-year-old (recently) turned up at a vaccination centre to take the vaccine against the Coronavirus. She recognised PM Modi at once when I showed her his pic. If she can take the vaccine, what's stopping you all from doing it! Go, get the jab!" the Chief Minister tweeted.
Tripura Chief Secretary Kumar Alok earlier in his tweet mentioned the woman's age as 121. Kumar Alok also tweeted, "121-year-old senior citizen in Brahmacharya under Matabari Block in Tripura gets vaccinated and sets a unique example. This will motivate many to take vaccination."
The CMO and the health officials, however, said that according to the electoral list of the Election Commission, the woman's age is 105 but her family members and the neighbours have claimed that she is 121 years old. A senior health official said that the aged tribals were mostly born at their homes in remote areas and they traditionally did not preserve their official documents even as the neighbours of Tara Kanya Debbarma supported her claim of her age of 121.
