10 Ahmedabad schools get bomb threat; turns out to be hoax after search
Ahmedabad (PTI): As many as 10 private schools in Ahmedabad received an email on Wednesday threatening bomb blasts, which later turned out to be a hoax as nothing suspicious was found during searches, police said.
As a precautionary measure, these schools declared a holiday for the afternoon shift as the morning shift was already over when they received the emails, having a common text, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Harshad Patel said.
After being alerted, police, along with the bomb detection and disposal squad, dog squad and anti-sabotage teams, reached the schools and conducted a thorough search, Patel told reporters.
"In the email sent to the schools, it was claimed that bomb blasts will be carried out in these establishments during the afternoon. As a precautionary measure, these schools declared a holiday for the afternoon shift as the morning shift was already over," he said.
"Our teams reached the schools and conducted a thorough search. However, nothing suspicious was found. Cybercrime teams are now investigating the source of these emails and who was behind them," Patel said.
The exact contents of these emails are not disclosed because the matter is under investigation, he said.
The email purportedly stated that blasts at these schools will take place at 1.11 pm.
The schools which received the threat included Zydus School of Excellence, Maharaja Agrasen Vidhyalaya, Udgam School For Children and Zebar School For Children, the sources said.
In the last two years, several private schools across the state and the Gujarat High Court have received such hoax threats on multiple occasions.
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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.
