{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Riding a Bulldozer Through a Raging Stream, Himachal Health Worker Palzom Butti Delivered Polio Drops to Every Child",
  "summary": "Health worker Palzom Butti, posted in the Darcha area of Lahaul Valley, Himachal Pradesh, crossed a swollen stream on a bulldozer on June 28 during the National Pulse Polio campaign to administer polio drops to children in a hard-to-reach area. Her courage and sense of duty have drawn admiration across the state and beyond.",
  "content": "A health worker from the remote Tood Valley region of Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh, has captured national attention after she rode a bulldozer across a raging seasonal stream to reach isolated settlements and deliver polio drops to children on June 28, the day India conducted its National Pulse Polio campaign.\n\nSnowmelt, Surging Water and a Route Cut Off\nHigh-altitude districts of Himachal Pradesh experience rapid snowmelt through the summer, pushing rivers and seasonal streams to dangerous levels. Palzom Butti, deployed in the Darcha area of Lahaul Valley, was on her assigned route that day when she arrived at the Mayad nala and found it completely impassable. The water was running too high and too fast. Rather than turn back and leave her task incomplete, she approached a bulldozer operator who was nearby and asked for his assistance. He agreed to help, and she crossed the flooded stream aboard the machine.\n\nNot a Single Child Left Without the Drop\nOnce across, she pushed on to the difficult settlements in the area and administered the lifesaving polio drops to the children there. Her effort ensured that no child in that hard-to-reach pocket of the valley was left out of the national immunization drive. The story spread quickly, and people across Himachal Pradesh have been praising her dedication and fearlessness.\n\nA Tradition of Courage Among the State's Frontline Health Workers\nThis act echoes a similar moment from the previous year. Kamala Devi, a health worker at the Sudhar Primary Health Centre in Chauhar Ghati, Mandi district, crossed a flooded stream during a disaster to vaccinate children. That incident was captured on video and spread widely across the country. Kamala Devi was subsequently honoured for her extraordinary courage, and Serum company awarded her a prize of Rs 5 lakh.\n\nPalzom Butti has now carried that same spirit forward in the Tood Valley. Her story serves as a quiet but powerful reminder of the conditions that frontline health workers navigate every day in India's most isolated corners, making sure government health programmes reach the last child, whatever the obstacle.\n\nWhat this means for you\n• Across India: This story shows that the national polio immunization programme is reaching even the most remote communities, with committed health workers ensuring no child is left out despite natural obstacles.\n• In Himachal Pradesh: Parents in remote mountain villages can be reassured that seasonal flooding and difficult terrain will not stop government vaccination drives from reaching their children.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Who is Palzom Butti?\nPalzom Butti is a health worker posted in the Darcha area of Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh.\n\n2. How did she cross the flooded stream?\nShe asked a bulldozer operator near the Mayad nala for help and crossed the swollen stream by riding on the bulldozer.\n\n3. When did this incident take place?\nThe incident occurred on June 28, during the National Pulse Polio campaign.\n\n4. Why was the stream flooded?\nAccelerated snowmelt during the summer months caused the Mayad nala to swell to dangerous levels, blocking the route entirely.\n\n5. Who is Kamala Devi and what is her connection to this story?\nKamala Devi is a health worker from the Sudhar Primary Health Centre in Chauhar Ghati, Mandi district, who crossed a flooded stream during a disaster the previous year to vaccinate children.\n\n6. What award did Kamala Devi receive?\nKamala Devi was honoured for her extraordinary courage and received a prize of Rs 5 lakh from Serum company.\n\n7. What is the National Pulse Polio campaign?\nThe National Pulse Polio campaign is a nationwide drive on a fixed date when children across India are simultaneously given polio drops to eliminate the disease.\n\nInspiration & Lessons\nPalzom Butti's story offers concrete, actionable lessons in commitment and resourcefulness:\n\n• Change your route, not your resolve: When the flooded Mayad nala blocked the path, she did not abandon her mission; she found a bulldozer and got across, adapting to the obstacle rather than surrendering to it.\n• A sense of duty is the most powerful motivator: With no supervisor watching and no easy alternative available, she still completed her task, driven entirely by responsibility.\n• Asking for help is wisdom, not weakness: She sought assistance from the bulldozer operator at exactly the right moment, turning an impassable barrier into a solved problem.\n• One person's courage can protect an entire community: Her single act of determination ensured that every child in that remote valley received their polio drops on schedule.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/uphanate-nale-se-nahin-dari-palzom-buladojara-para-savara-hokara-durgama-lahaul-men-pahunchai-polio-ki-khuraka-3612",
  "category": "Success Stories",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-29",
  "tags": [
    "Pulse Polio Campaign",
    "Palzom Butti",
    "Lahaul Valley",
    "Health Worker",
    "Himachal Pradesh",
    "Kamala Devi",
    "Mandi District",
    "Polio Drops"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}