Maharashtra Court issues non-bailable warrant against Chandrababu Naidu
Nanded (Maharashtra)/Hyderabad, Sep 14: A Maharashtra court has issued non-bailable warrants against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and 14 others in a 2010 case pertaining to an agitation against the Babli Barrage on River Godavari, an official said here.
Judicial Magistrate First Class, Dharmabad Court (Nanded) N.R. Gajbhiye on Thursday issued the NBWs against Naidu and his cabinet colleagues, Irrigation Minister D.U. Rao, Social Welfare Minister G.Kamalakar and 12 others.
The police have been ordered to arrest them and produce them before the court at the next hearing on September 21.
The incident took place when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had organised massive protests over what it termed the "illegal constructions" of the Babli Barrage project by the Maharashtra government allegedly to divert Godavari River waters from Telangana region of the then undivided Andhra Pradesh.
At that time Naidu was the Leader of Opposition in the state and along with 40 legislators, had entered the barrage vicinity flouting prohibition orders clamped there.
The police had caned some protesters and later arrested all of them.
Later, as Naidu refused to take bail, he was sent back to Hyderabad by a flight, and subsequently cases were filed against all agitators on various counts.
The court orders came after a petitioner moved the Dharmabad court seeking to know why the earlier arrest warrants were not executed.
The TDP on Thursday reacted sharply to the warrants against Naidu and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is behind the conspiracy. TDP leader Buddha Venkanna told reporters in Vijayawada that the Bharatiya Janata Party is resorting to witch-hunting.
Naidu's son and state IT Minister N. Lokesh told the media that while legal opinion on the issue has been sought, the Chief Minister would attend the court hearing next week.
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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.
