Kharge, Sonia, Rahul among 40 star campaigners for Congress in Haryana
Chandigarh (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Bhupinder Hooda, Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala are among the 40 star campaigners for the party for the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls.
The names of Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and recently joined the Congress, also figure in the list of the party's star campaigners.
Among other prominent campaigners are Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, party's Haryana affairs in-charge Deepak Babaria, State unit chief of the party Udai Bhan and Ajay Maken, Birender Singh, Anand Sharma and Sachin Pilot.
Former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Singh Channi also figure in the list of star campaigners.
Other senior leaders in the list are Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Partap Singh Bajwa, Pawan Khera, Deepender Singh Hooda, Rajiv Shukla, Supriya Shrinate, Srinivas B V and Subhash Batra.
Hisar and Sonipat MPs Jai Prakash and Satpal Brahamchari, besides other leaders including Imran Pratapgarhi, Raj Babbar, Kanhaiya Kumar and Ajay Singh Yadav also figure on the list of party's star campaigners.
Polling for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and votes counted on October 8.
The ruling BJP is eyeing a hat-trick in the assembly polls but faces a stiff challenge from a resurgent Congress, which is looking to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor.
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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.
