Ballari MP Ugrappa to focus on key areas in remaining term
New Delhi, Nov 16: Newly elected Congress MP from Karnataka's Ballari, V.S Ugrappa Friday said he would focus on drinking water, health and infrastructure in the remaining five months of his tenure.
Ugrappa won the Ballari seat in the recent Lok Sabha by-polls by a margin of more than 2.43 lakh votes, defeating BJP's J Shantha, sister of B Sriramulu, a key aide of the controversial mining barons-- the Reddy brothers and former MP from there.
He will take oath as the Member of Parliament (MP)during the winter session of the House.
"There has not been any development in Ballari and there are many problems like farmers distress, poverty, unemployment among others. I will not say that I will bring big reforms in the next five months. I will at least focus on priority issues," the Congress leader told reporters here.
The priority areas could be providing safe drinking water, health, better roads besides ensuring procurement of paddy, he said.
Ugrappa, close aide of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, also indicated that he might get the ticket to contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency, considering his victory in the by-poll with a huge margin.
The by-poll results will have an impact on the upcoming general elections, he said, adding the mood of the people in the southern state was in favour of the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance.
The Ballari constituency, which had remained a BJP stronghold since 2004, is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. It is one of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
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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.
