60-day Amarnath Yatra ends
Srinagar, Aug 26 : The 60-day Amarnath Yatra ended peacefully on Sunday with over 2.85 lakh pilgrims performing the Himalayan pilgrimage this year.
The Yatra started on June 28.
The 'Chhari Mubarak' (Lord Shiva's Mace) carried by a group of Hindu priests headed by Swami Deepinder Giri, its custodian, reached the cave shrine on Sunday morning.
The priests offered the final prayers at the shrine. Some senior officers of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the annual Yatra were also present.
Swami Deepinder Giri told IANS that the devotees prayed for peace and prosperity of the country, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.
More people performed this year's pilgrimage than in the last three years.
Due to extraordinary security arrangements that included the deployment of over 70,000 security personnel and the cooperation of local Muslims, this year's Yatra ended peacefully.
Except for four pilgrims who died in a landslide, the Yatra was incident free this year.
No militant outfit carried out any attack on the pilgrims' convoys and most outfits issued statements that the Yatra was not on their target list as it was a purely religious exercise.
Located 3,880 meters above the sea level in Kashmir's Himalayas, the cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the visible moon.
Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure symbolizes the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
Devotees approached the cave shrine both from the north Kashmir Baltal base camp and the south Kashmir Pahalgam base camp.
Helicopter services were also available for the pilgrims.
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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.
