Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar released after 15 months in Saharanpur jail
Meerut : Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar who has been in prison since his arrest in June last year, was released from Saharanpur jail early Friday morning.
He was arrested on June 8 last year from Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh and was booked under the National Security Act after caste clashes in western Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, which left one dead and many injured. On November 2 last, the year period of his detention under the NSA was extended for another six months.
Hundreds of Bhim Army supporters who gathered outside the jail, raised of ‘Bhim Army Zindabad’ and ‘Chandrashekhar Zindabad’ as their leader walked out. Overwhelmed supporters garlanded him and distributed sweets to express their happiness over his release after 15 months in jail.
Chandrashekher remained defiant, vowing to continue his fight against injustice.
“The state government misused government machinery... I will continue my fight for marginalised people against injustice,” he said.
Bhim Army’s district president Kamal Walia claimed that Chandrashekhar’s release was victory of peoples’ faith in him and will infuse a new strength and vigour among the outfit’s supporters.
Bhim Army supporters had gathered outside the district jail at night anxiously waiting for release of their leader but district administration strategically released him at around 3 am in order to avoid any chaos.
Chandrashekher’s mother, brother and other family members also arrived there and welcomed him with garland. Bhim Army supporters then took him in a procession.
Chandrashekher had formed Bhim Army along with his associate Vinay Ratan Singh on July 21, 2015 to empower dalits and marginalised people.
The Bhim Army has influence in Saharanpur though it has supporters in all parts of western UP.
Its leaders claim that the organisation has so far opened 300 schools in Saharanpur and neighbouring districts which provide free education to children of dalits and marginalised people.
Amid the Bhim Amry’s rising popularity, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati had accused the BJP of propping it up to target the BSP in order to build an alliance of all castes in UP.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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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.
