Minor brother-sister duo die after falling into well in Maharashtra's Latur
Latur (PTI): A three-year-old boy and his elder sister died after falling into a well while playing near their house in Latur city of Maharashtra, police said on Friday.
The incident took place in Taleburhan area here on Thursday.
"Alina Sameer Shaikh (6) and her brother Usman, aged three, fell into a well while playing. The incident took place around 4 pm on April 10," inspector Sujit Rejitwad said.
When they fell into the well, their eight-year-old brother panicked and rushed home to inform his family members about it, he said.
The family members and their neighbours immediately rushed to the place and launched a rescue operation. They managed to retrieve the children's bodies using a rope tied to a tree after nearly one-and-a-half hours of efforts, he said.
The father of the deceased children is an ice cream vendor, the police said.
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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.
