Bengaluru, July 9: Senior Congress legislator M B Patil on Friday met Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa to seek financial assistance for irrigation in drought-hit villages in Vijayapura district.

"Met the Hon'ble CM of Karnataka today at his residence.

Made a request for financial assistance to provide irrigation to the drought-hit villages of Indi taluk by filling 16 tanks from the Krishna River through Tidagundi aqueduct. He has informally agreed to the same," Patil tweeted.

The former Water Resources Minister sought financial assistance also for work on releasing additional water from the Almatti Dam into the lakes and check-dams in the command area of UKP (Upper Krishna Project)-3 to improve the groundwater-level in Vijayapura district.

The Chief Minister's office called the meeting a courtesy call.

The meeting was keenly watched as Patil is a prominent Lingayat leader from north Karnataka, the community to which the Chief Minister too belongs.

There had been speculations and reports in the past that the ruling BJP was keen on roping in Patil into its fold, which he had denied.

The Babaleshwar MLA said the Chief Minister has responded positively to an appeal to taking up the reprinting of "Shivanubhava", a Kannada newspaper edited by Dr P G Halakatti.

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.



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.