Angry commuters stop local train in Thane over delay
Mumbai (PTI): Angry over the suburban services running late, commuters stopped a local train at Titwala station in neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra for more than 20 minutes during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, officials said.
A group of 10-15 commuters including women jumped on the tracks at around 8.30 am and stopped the local train at Titwala, located 55 km from Mumbai. The train was heading from Kasara in Thane district to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai, they said.
The railway police later removed the protesters from the tracks, the officials said.
Local trains are considered as the lifeline of Mumbai and its adjoining Thane and Palghar districts, and office-goers mostly prefer it as the fastest mode of transport during the morning peak hours.
"The Kasara local was held up due to the commuters' agitation from 8.30 am to 8.51 am," a spokesperson of the Central Railway (CR) said, adding that the train was delayed due to a technical glitch in a goods train engine running ahead of it.
The Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, "We will find the reason for the delay. But agitation and stopping a train is not the way. It causes inconvenience to other passengers."
Another CR official said the local train was delayed due to the agitation, but it did not affect the schedule of the other suburban services.
A Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said passengers were agitated over the delay of the CSMT-bound Kasara local train which was scheduled to arrive at Titwala station at 8.19 am, but reached there at around 8.30 am.
Personnel of the Government Railway Police and the RPF removed the protesting passengers from the tracks and extra security was deployed at the station, the official said.
The commuters had complained that local trains were running late on a regular basis as a result, they could not reach their offices on time during the morning peak hours, he said.
The Central Railway daily operates 1,810 services on its Main Line (CSMT to Kasara/Khopoli), Harbour line (CSMT-Goregoan/Panvel), Trans-Harbour line (Vashi-Thane/Panvel) and Bamandongri-Belapur/ Seawood line.
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Angry commuters stop local train at Titwala in Thane over delay
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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.
