After single-day halt, fuel prices continue to rise
New Delhi, Sep 13: Fuel prices in the country resumed their upward movement on Thursday with prices hitting fresh highs in three of the four metro cities.
In the national capital, petrol price touched Rs 81 per litre, up from Rs 80.87 on Wednesday, according to data from the Indian Oil Corp website.
On Wednesday, prices were unchanged in three cities, except Kolkata, where fuel prices fell by a rupee after the West Bengal government cut excise duty by Re 1 per litre.
Transport fuel prices have been on a rise for around a month now, owing to higher crude oil prices coupled with a depreciating rupee. Any fall in the Indian rupee against the US dollar makes the import of crude oil expensive as the transaction is done in dollars.
Brent crude oil is currently priced over $79 per barrel. The rupee, on the other hand, slumped to a record low of 72.91 per dollar on Wednesday, before settling at 72.19 per greenback.
In Mumbai and Chennai, petrol was sold at an all-time high of Rs 88.39 and Rs 84.19 per litre respectively, both record levels, up from the previous Rs 88.26 and Rs 84.19 per litre.
In Kolkata too, the fuel price rose but did not surpass the all time high of Rs 83.75 on Tuesday. On Thursday, it was sold at Rs 82.87 in the West Bengal capital, up from the previous 82.74 per litre.
In tandem with the rise in petrol prices, diesel prices also climbed to fresh highs.
In Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, diesel prices were at record levels of Rs 73.08, Rs 77.58 and Rs 77.25 respectively, up from the previous levels of Rs 72.98, Rs 77.47 and Rs 77.13 per litre.
Diesel price in Kolkata rose to Rs 74.93, against Wednesday's 74.82 per litre. The all-time high in the city for diesel price is Rs 75.82, recorded on Tuesday.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
