Mizoram police rescues 3 Mizo women from Syria
Aizawl (PTI): The Mizoram Police has rescued and brought back three Mizo women who were engaged as housemaids and stranded in Syria for about 20 months, an officer said on Sunday.
The three women had left Mizoram in 2022 and began to face hardships soon after they landed in Syria in November of that year, he said.
After intense efforts by Mizoram police and Indian Embassy authorities and fulfilling all legal formalities, the three women left Syria on August 20 and were safely brought back home on Saturday, the police officer said.
While two women hailed from the Hnahthial district, the other one is from the Champhai district, he said.
The three women were illegally sent to Syria by a private placement agency in November to work as housemaids, he said.
Soon after they reached Syria on November 6, 2022, the three women began to face issues from their employers.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma and Home Minister K Sapdanga have taken the issue very seriously, and with their direction, initiatives have been taken to rescue and repatriate the three Mizo women from Syria since May, he said.
Court cases were also involved in the matter.
During the process, the state government was in constant touch with the Indian embassy and Syrian authorities.
After the legal cases were won, the Indian embassy in Damascus gave shelter to the three women for three weeks, and when the exit visas were issued, they were brought to New Delhi on August 20 and then to Aizawl on Saturday, the police officer said.
They will be sent to their villages within this week to be reunited with their families, he added.
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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.
