Telangana CM Revanth Reddy urges Sonia Gandhi to contest LS polls from Telangana
Hyderabad, Feb 6: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi to contest from the state in the next Lok Sabha polls.
Reddy, who called on Sonia Gandhi in Delhi Monday evening, brought to her notice that the Telangana Congress unit had passed a resolution urging her to contest from the state.
The request to contest from the state is being made as people see her as the 'mother' who gave statehood to Telangana, he was quoted as saying in an official release here.
Gandhi has responded by saying that a decision would be taken at an appropriate time, it said.
Revanth Reddy, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, apprised her of the poll promises being implemented by his government.
Out of the six poll 'guarantees' of Congress, free travel for women in state-run RTC buses and a health scheme of Rs 10 lakh for the poor are already being implemented, the Congress state unit chief said.
Reddy also told her that the state government has decided to conduct a 'caste census' and preparations have begun.
Noting that the party's state unit is making efforts to win as many seats as possible (out of the total 17 seats) in the upcoming general elections, the CM said preparations were underway to achieve the goal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
