Kathmandu: India's athletes continued their fine show at the 13th South Asian Games by adding four medals, including a gold in men's 1500m race at the Dasarath Stadium here on Tuesday.
The Indians bagged the gold and silver in the men's the 1500m besides winning the silver and bronze in the women's 1500m event.
Ajay Kumar Saro won the gold in men's 1500m with a timing of 3.54.18 seconds while Ajeet Kumar clinched the silver by clocking 3.57.18s. The bronze went to Tanka Karki (3.50.20s) of Nepal.
Earlier in the day, India's Chanda (4.34.51s) clinched the silver medal in the women's 1500m event while compatriot Chitra Palakeez (4.35.46s) settled for the bronze. The gold in this event was bagged by Sri Lanka's Uda Kuburalage (4.34.34s).
The Indians have so far accumulated 21 medals, including six gold, 11 silver and four bronze. The country is currently second in the medals tally behind hosts Nepal (28 medals).
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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.
