Hubballi, May 31 (IANS): Stressing that inoculation was the only way to protect people from Covid, Congress' Karnataka President D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday sought the state government's permission to allow his party to take up a mass vaccination drive.

"We have asked the state government to permit our party to procure anti-Covid vaccines worth Rs 100 crore for undertaking mass vaccination across the state to protect the people," Shivakumar told reporters at Hubballi.

The Congress plans to mobilise Rs 100 crore from its lawmakers, members and cadres for buying vaccines directly from pharma companies and organising free camps to vaccinate as many people as it can.

"I have directed our MLAs and MPs to contribute from their local area development scheme funds, as the party's state unit is ready to give Rs 10 crore for procuring vaccines," Shivakumar said.

Accusing the state's BJP government for failing to procure enough vaccines to inoculate more citizens, he said the caseload would have been reduced during the pandemic's second wave if more vaccines had been mobilised by the state much earlier on its own, instead of depending on the Centre.

As part of the party's contribution to contain the virus spread, Shivakumar flagged off 14 ambulances equipped with oxygen concentrators to rush Covid patients to hospitals in northwest Karnataka.

"We have also donated about 10,000 kits for treating Covid patients under home quarantine in Hubballi-Dharwad district, which has witnessed a spurt in positive cases," he said.

He urged the people to get vaccinated at the earliest to develop immunity against coronavirus, adding that that vaccination has reduced Covid cases and deaths in many countries like Israel, the UK and the US.