Lok Sabha polls: Rs 540-crore suspect cash, liquor and freebies seized across country
New Delhi: Suspect cash, illegal liquor and drugs worth about Rs 540 crore have been seized across the country since parliamentary election schedule was announced by the Election Commission a fortnight ago, official data showed Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu recorded the maximum seizure of these illegal inducements, suspected to have been routed and used to bribe voters, worth Rs 107.24 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh Rs 104.53 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 103.4 crore and Punjab Rs 92.8 crore.
Karnataka saw the total seizure of inducements and cash worth Rs 26.53 crore, Maharashtra Rs 19.11 crore and Telangana Rs 8.2 crore.
An Election Commission official said the total value of seized items was Rs 539.99 crore.
The polls were declared by the Election Commission on March 10 and as per data updated till March 25, a total of Rs 143.37 crore suspect cash, Rs 89.64 crore worth of liquor, drugs valued at Rs 131.75 crore, gold and other precious metals worth Rs 162.93 crore and other freebies of Rs 12.20 crore have been seized, the EC data for all states for Lok Sabha polls said.
The EC has deployed hundreds of general observers, expenditure observers and static and mobile surveillance teams in the country to keep a check on flow of black money and other illegal gratification so that the level playing field of holding fair polls is not disturbed.
The seven phase polls will begin from April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23.
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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.
