Panaji, Jun 9 (IANS): The Goa government will soon launch Tika Utsav 3.0 in rural parts of the state, which will enable persons in the age group of 18-44 years to walk-in and vaccinate themselves, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that he was encouraged to start the third edition of the utsav, first launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a pan India scale in April this year.

"We are thinking of starting Tika Utsav 3.0 for the age groups of 18 to 44 years at the gram panchayat level. If everyone co-operates, we will be able to vaccinate everyone," Sawant said.

"We have reached a lot of people due to the Tika Utsavs and the response has been good. Panchas, sarpanchas and some MLAs have put in good work," Sawant said, adding that instead of fixing appointments online, eligible person can just walk into respective vaccination centres to get a jab.

The Chief Minister also brushed aside criticism of the previous editions of the Tika Ustavs by the Opposition, who have alleged that the mass vaccination drive was a political exercise carried out by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the state assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held in early 2022.

"Some people are trying to politicise everything," Sawant said.