Patna, April 10 (PTI): A student of a government medical college here who was allegedly denied admission in his own health institute after a road accident died at a private hospital on Thursday, police said.
Abhinav Pandey, a second-year student of government-run Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) was injured when his motorcycle crashed into a road divider earlier this week. He was allegedly denied admission at the IGIMS for injuries he sustained in the road accident and had to be admitted to a private hospital.
Soon after the news of Abhinav's death spread, protests erupted at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday.
A police officer who did not wish to be identified said, "We did visit the IGIMS premises to bring the situation under control. We can't comment much on the death of the student since no written complaint has been submitted in this regard."
However, the protesting students, who requested anonymity, said, "Our primary grouse is that Abhinav, whose bike crashed into a road divider earlier this week, was denied admission for his injuries at the IGIMS despite being a student. Left with no choice, we had to take him to a private hospital."
Bihar Health minister Mangal Pandey and authorities at the IGIMS could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
However, the matter was flagged by Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar at a press conference in the city where he reached as part of the state-wide 'Stop Migration and Provide Jobs' padayatra.
"One can imagine the state of affairs in Bihar's Health department. A medical student died simply because he was denied admission in his own institute. The health system in Bihar has completely collapsed," Kanhaiya told reporters.
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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.
