Hartal: CPIM leader's son, journalist daughter-in-law attacked
Kozhikode, Nov 17: A CPI(M) leaders son and his journalist daughter-in law were attacked allegedly by protesters trying to enforce a shutdown near here Saturday, the police said.
Julius Nikithas and wife Saniyo Manomi, working with a leading Malayalam news channel, were attacked at Kuttiady as they were going to a hospital in a car to visit a patient, they said.
Nikithas, son of party district secretary P Mohanan, suffered head injuries, police said, adding that Manomi was also injured.
The couple have been admitted to the government medical college hospital here.
The CPI(M) alleged that they were attacked by activists belonging to the Sangh Parivar.
A case has been registered against ten people allegedly involved in the attack, police said.
Right-wing Hindu outfits observed a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kerala Saturday in protest against the "preventive detention" of Hindu Aikya Vedi state president P Sasikala who was on a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
State-owned and private buses and auto rickshaws were off the roads in most parts of the state due to the hartal.
At various places, hartal supporters forcibly downed shutters of shops, prevented vehicles from plying, causing hardship to long distance travellers reaching railway and bus stations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had extended support to the shutdown.
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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.
