Three civilians injured in Pak shelling along LoC in J-K's Poonch
Jammu: Three civilians, including two women, were injured Friday when Pakistani troops targeted forward posts and civilians areas with mortars and small arms firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, drawing strong retaliation from the Indian Army.
With Pakistan using heavy weaponry and 120 mm mortar bombs targeting civilian areas, people have been advised to stay indoors, officials said.
"At about 0830 hours, Pakistani Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing with small arms along the LoC in Swajian sector of Poonch," PRO defence said.
The Indian Army is effectively retaliating, he said.
Three persons, including two women, identified as Tasveer Akhtar, 19, and Shabina Akhtar, 18, of Chapprian village, were injured in the Pakistani shelling and they have been hospitalised, officials said.
A house of one Gani Mir suffered damages in Chapprian-Sawjian forward belt, they said.
As Pakistani army often targets civilian areas, people of the Chapprian-Sawjian area are demanding construction of bunkers for their safety.
We are living along the zero line near the border fencing but have no protective enclosures like bunkers, said Abdul Rashid of Chapprian village.
Two persons were injured when Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling along the LoC in the forward area in Digwar sector of Poonch last Friday.
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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.
