3 officers in Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office transferred ahead of assembly polls
Kolkata, Feb 1: The Election Commission on Monday transferred three senior officials of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office months before the assembly election in the state, a source said.
The three included Additional Chief Electoral Officer Saibal Barman, an IAS officer who was in charge of model code of conduct and law and order sections.
Joint Chief Electoral Officer Anamika Majumdar and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Amitjyoti Bhattacharji were also transferred, the source in the CEO's office said.
Majumdar looked after Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and training of election workers, while Bhattacharji was responsible for handling the media cell.
It is still not clear where the three officers were transferred or who will replace them, the source said.
The assembly election in the state is due in April- May.
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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.
