Landslide kills three in Uttarakhand, five still trapped
Dehradun, Aug 29 : Three people were killed and five others are suspected to be trapped under rubble in Uttarakhand's Tehri district following a landslide on Wednesday, police said.
Heavy rains are lashing most parts of the hill state, triggering a spate of landslides.
The landslide damaged a house and five shops, burying eight people under it. While five persons are still trapped under the rubble, three bodies have been taken out, police said.
The Sub-divisional magistrate(SDM), P. R. Chauhan, said a team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has reached the site of the incident.
Due to rains, the Pindar river in Tehri has been in spate and many landslides have taken place in the region, an official said.
Meanwhile, rains continued to batter most parts of the state for the sixth consecutive day, leading to water logging in the cities and towns and landslides in the countryside.
More than 80 link roads have been either damaged or closed for traffic in Paudi district alone due to heavy rains and inclement weather. Overnight rains in Nainital, a popular hill station for tourists, has disrupted normal life.
A landslide behind a school in Nainital's Mallitaal area has forced the district administration to send advice to schools to be vigilant. On inspection by authorities, a large section of road on the Haldwani-Bheemtaal road, has turned weak and can at any time cave into the lake, an official said. Traffic has been stopped on this road.
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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.
