Eight bodies recovered from stone quarry collapse site in Mizoram
Aizawl (PTI): Eight bodies have been recovered from the debris of a stone quarry that collapsed in south Mizoram's Hnahthial district on Monday, an official said Tuesday.
Hnahthial district deputy commissioner R. Lalremsanga said the bodies of 8 out of 12 people reported missing at the quarry site have been recovered from the debris of the massive landslip till 7 am on Tuesday.
Search operations which were on all night will continue till all the missing persons are found, he said.
Lalremsanga, who is also the chairman of district disaster management authority, said that a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team comprising of 2 officers and 13 staff arrived at the spot on Tuesday morning.
Of the 12 persons reportedly missing, 4 were employees of ABCI Infrastructures Pvt Ltd while 8 others were a contractor's employees, he said.
People present at the site said that troopers from Assam Rifles and Border Security Force (BSF) joined local police and people in the rescue operation.
Earlier, Hnahthial Superintendent of Police (SP) Vineet Kumar had said that the incident occurred at around 3 pm on Monday at Maudarh village, near Hnahthial town.
Thirteen people were working when a massive landslide occurred at the stone quarry. Only one worker managed to escape from the spot, the SP said.
Eye witnesses claimed that workers had dug too deep and had upset the stability of the stone quarry resulting in the entire hill crumbling down on the workers.
Lalremsanga said that five earth excavators, a stone crusher and a drilling machine were also completely buried under the debris.
He said that area impacted by the landslide is approximately 5,000 square metres.
The stone quarry is owned by the ABCI, which is executing widening of a section of the national highway between Hnathial town and Dawn village.
BREAKING NEWS: Big accident due to stone quarry collapse in Mahnathiyal district of Mizoram in Notrthern India, 12 laborers have been reported trapped, and the rescue operation continues. pic.twitter.com/G3EKL1vo31
— Personal Blog Media News (@pbmnews) November 15, 2022
Earthslide in MIZORAM,rescue on. Details-On 14/11/2022 at about 1440 hrs,a massive earthslide after quarry blast in a stone quarry,occurred at Maudarh,Hnahthial,approx 35km from Lunglei.8 bodies recovered so far. Efforts on to retrieve remaining 4. @BSF_India @NDRFHQ on the job pic.twitter.com/Rop4iHiumM
— Arunima (@Arunima24) November 15, 2022
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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.
