Saturday morning in Telangana.
While most of the state sips chai, an army of 70,000+ health workers is fanning out across cities, slums, tribal hamlets and construction sites.
Their mission?
👉 Two pink drops. 40.97 lakh kids. 48 hours.
India hasn't seen a wild polio case since 13 January 2011 — a little girl in Howrah, West Bengal.
Telangana's own last case? 2007.
So why are we still chasing toddlers with vaccine vials almost two decades later?
Because polio is the kind of enemy that waits.
One missed child. One imported case from across a border. One lapse in coverage.
And a disease the world has spent billions to corner… walks right back in.
Here's what Telangana has put on the field this weekend:
And if booth day misses a child?
Door-knocks on June 29 and 30. House by house. Lane by lane.
Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha had one very specific instruction.
Find the invisible ones.
For Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medchal Malkajgiri and Sangareddy — where the population swells and shifts daily — the drive may stretch an extra day into July 1.
Because in polio math, 99% coverage isn't a win.
The 1% you missed is exactly where the virus hides.
Pakistan and Afghanistan still report wild polio cases. Vaccine-derived strains keep popping up in pockets around the world.
Which means India's polio-free status isn't a trophy on a shelf.
It's a streak.
And streaks only survive if someone, somewhere, keeps showing up on a Saturday morning with two pink drops and a register.
This weekend, that someone is Telangana.
Do Bond. Do zindagi ki.
That's all for now!
