Petrol hits a record at Rs 89/litre in Mumbai
New Delhi, Sep 15: Fuel prices in the country hit a new benchmark on Saturday with the price of petrol in Mumbai touching Rs 89 per litre, for the first time ever.
It was priced at Rs 89.01 in the financial capital of the country, up from Rs 88.67 per litre on Friday, data on the Indian Oil Corp's website showed.
In the other key cities of Delhi and Chennai too, petrol prices climbed fresh highs of Rs 81.63 and Rs 84.85, against the previous levels of Rs 81.28 and Rs 84.49 per litre respectively.
Cost of the key fuel in the eastern city of Kolkata rose to Rs 83.49, from the Friday's level of Rs 83.14 per litre. The all time high in the city is Rs 83.75, recorded on Tuesday, September 11.
The recent surge in transportation fuel prices is largely attributed to high crude oil prices and a falling rupee. A weak rupee against the dollar makes the import of crude oil expensive.
The price of Brent crude oil is currently over $78 per barrel.
Cost of the other transportation fuel, diesel also increased on Saturday. In Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai touching fresh record levels of Rs 73.54, Rs 78.07 and Rs 77.74 per litre, against the previous levels of Rs 73.30, Rs 77.82 and Rs 77.49 per litre.
In Kolkata, it is 43 paise short of the record high price of Rs 75.82, hit on Tuesday. Diesel, in the West Bengal capital was priced at Rs 75.39 on Saturday, up from previous level of Rs 75.15 per litre.
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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.
