Senior J&K official among five killed in Pakistani shelling in Jammu region
Rajouri, May 10: A senior Jammu and Kashmir official was among five civilians killed on Saturday morning as Pakistani forces carried out intense shelling across multiple areas in the Jammu region. The attacks come amid ongoing air and drone strikes along India’s northern and western frontiers.
Raj Kumar Thapa (55), Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) of Rajouri, lost his life after a Pakistani artillery shell hit his residence in Rajouri town early Saturday. Thapa, a 1989 MBBS graduate from Jammu Government Medical College, was critically injured in the blast and later succumbed to his injuries.
Just a day earlier, Thapa had accompanied Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on a district visit and had attended a high-level online meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Expressing his condolences on social media platform X, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote,
**“Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J\&K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district and attended the online meeting I chaired. Today, his residence was hit by Pakistani shelling. I have no words to express my shock and sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace.”**
He further urged the public to stay indoors and avoid sharing or believing in unverified rumours.
In a separate incident in Kheri village near Raipur on the outskirts of Jammu city, a civilian named Zakir Hussain was killed when another shell hit his house. Several members of his family were injured in the blast.
In yet another shelling-related incident, Ashok Kumar of Kheri Jattan and three of his relatives were wounded while they were trying to move to a safer location.
The latest attacks have pushed the civilian death toll in the Jammu region to five. This includes two residents from Bihar who died in Rajouri town and a woman who was killed in the Mendhar area of Poonch district during earlier strikes.
The early morning shelling marked a sharp escalation in cross-border hostilities. It came just hours after Pakistan launched swarms of drones for the second night in a row, targeting Indian military positions in several cities close to the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border.
According to officials, the Indian Air Force continued to effectively engage Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters in response to these provocations. They also hinted that the PAF may have suffered losses during the overnight engagements, particularly in the Srinagar sector, which came under missile attack.
The situation remains tense in several border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, with local authorities urging residents to stay alert and follow safety advisories amid the continuing hostilities.
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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.
