BJP names 44 candidates for J-K Assembly polls
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Monday released its first list of 44 candidates for the elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, fielding Devender Singh Rana from Nagrota.
The candidates include 15 for the first phase of polls, 10 for the second phase and 19 for the third phase.
The party has chosen to field its candidates for a few Kashmir constituencies,, including Pampore, Shopian, Anantnag West and Anantnag, besides its strongholds in the Jammu region.
Arvind Gupta and Yudhvir Sethi have been fielded from Jammu West and Jammu East respectively.
The BJP's Central Election Committee had met on Sunday evening to finalise the party's candidates for the polls.
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is going to polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.
The 90-member assembly of Haryana will go to polls on October 1. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 4.
In the last assembly elections held in 2014, when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, the BJP had won 25 seats.
The party is making all out efforts to fend off the challenge from a resurgent Congress, which has tied up with the National Conference, especially in the Jammu region, a BJP bastion since 2014.
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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.
