Jharkhand: JMM-led coalition MLAs return to Ranchi from Hyderabad, 'confident' of winning trust vote
Ranchi, Feb 4: The MLAs of Jharkhand's JMM-led alliance exuded confidence to win the trust vote in the assembly on Monday, soon after their return to Ranchi from Hyderabad on Sunday evening.
The legislators landed at the Birsa Munda Airport here in a chartered flight and were taken to the Circuit House in the city in two buses.
"Our MLAs are united... We have the support of 48 to 50 legislators," minister Alamgir Alam said.
JMM lawmaker Mithilesh Thakur also asserted that the JMM-led coalition will sail through the trust vote.
"Many BJP legislators are also in support of the alliance in the state," he claimed.
However, Biranchi Narain, Chief Whip of the BJP, said the coalition was set to lose the vote of confidence on Monday.
He said the MLAs in Hyderabad were kept under strict surveillance, which indicates that they were not confident of winning.
The Champai Soren-led coalition government in Jharkhand will seek a vote of confidence on Monday, the first day of the two-day assembly session.
Soren was administered the oath of office by Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan on February 2.
Along with him, senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam and RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta took oath as ministers.
JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren took oath as the chief minister on Friday, after his predecessor Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on Wednesday in a money laundering case.
A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court has allowed him to participate in the trust vote.
Hemant Soren was remanded to ED custody for five days by the court on Friday.
The alliance between the JMM, Congress and RJD has 47 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, and it is supported from outside by a lone CPIML(L) legislator.
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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.
