Andhra fire tragedy: Cong says govt must act to avoid such incidents in future
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday condoled the loss of lives in the terrible fire tragedy in a pharmaceutical factory in Andhra Pradesh's Anakapalle district, and urged the government to take steps to avoid such incidents in the future.
A major fire and explosion ripped through a pharma unit in Anakapalle on Wednesday, leaving 17 people dead and 33 injured. The damage could have been worse but due to lunchtime fewer workers were in the plant when the accident occurred.
Harrowing scenes unfolded with injured workers -- their skin ripped and peeling off, bodies soaked in blood -- being shifted to hospital in ambulances after the incident occurred at 2:15 pm at Escientia Advanced Science Pvt Ltd.
"Deeply anguished by the terrible fire tragedy in a pharmaceutical factory in Anakapalle district of Andhra Pradesh where several people have lost their lives," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.
"Our heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. The government must provide them with immediate and adequate compensation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and we wish them a speedy recovery," he said.
"We need to take more preventive measures to avoid such incidents in the future and ensure justice to the victims, therefore the government must act with alacrity on the high level probe," the Congress president said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident, promising stringent action against the management if its negligence was found to have caused the tragic incident.
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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.
