Punjab: Vote count begins for zila parishad, panchayat samiti elections
Chandigarh (PTI): Counting of votes for the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Punjab began on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements, said officials.
Polls were held to elect members of 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis on December 14.
A voter turnout of 48 per cent was recorded in the daylong polling, with over 9,000 candidates in the fray.
Counting of ballot papers started at 8 am at centres set up across the state.
Candidates of all major political parties -- the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and the BJP -- contested the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls on party symbols.
On December 14, opposition parties Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal had accused the ruling AAP of indulging in "blatant electoral malpractices" during the polling.
Earlier, they had also targeted the Bhagwant Mann government, accusing it of using the government machinery to prevent their candidates from filing nomination papers and getting those rejected.
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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.
