Telangana: 10 women workers die as mound of mud caves in
Hyderabad, Apr 10: Ten women working under the MGNREGA scheme were buried alive and another injured when a mound of mud caved in on them at a village in Narayanpet district of Telangana Wednesday, police said.
The incident occurred at Tileru village around 11.15 am when 12 women labourers were sitting at the work site to have lunch, they said, adding rescue efforts were on.
Under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, the women were engaged for digging earth as part of trench work, a senior district official said.
According to eye-witnesses, a mound of earth fell on them and they were buried under six to eight feet of mud.
Ten women died and one was injured while another woman managed to come out safely, according to the official.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock and anguish over the incident which he described as "unfortunate."
The deceased belonged to the poorest strata, he said and instructed officials to provide all help to the injured and bereaved families.
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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.
