Two more bodies recovered from stone quarry collapse site in Mizoram, toll rises to 10
Aizawl (PTI): The death toll rose to 10 in the stone quarry collapse in South Mizoram's Hnahthial district as two more bodies were recovered from the site, an official said on Wednesday.
Of the diseased, five are from West Bengal, two each from Jharkhand and neighbouring Assam and one from Mizoram's Lunglei district, he said.
Overall 12 people were confirmed to have been trapped after the stone quarry caved in at Maudarh village, about 23 km from Hnahthial town, on Monday.
The incident occurred around 2.40 pm on November 14 when the workers were working at the site, according to the district administration.
Hnahthial district Deputy Commissioner R Lalremsanga said, "Two more bodies have been recovered from the debris on Tuesday night after an intense search operation. With these recoveries, 10 of the 12 people trapped under the debris of the stone quarry have been found."
The two missing persons are residents of Mizoram and Assam, he said.
Search operations will continue till all the missing persons are found, the official said.
Hnahthial Superintendent of Police (SP) Vineet Kumar had said that thirteen people were working when a massive landslide occurred at the stone quarry and only one labourer managed to escape from the spot.
Eyewitnesses claimed that workers had dug too deep and had upset the stability of the stone quarry, resulting in the collapse.
Lalremsanga had said that five earth excavators, a stone crusher and a drilling machine were also completely buried under the debris.
He said the area impacted by the landslide is approximately 5,000 square metres.
The stone quarry is owned by ABCI Infrastructures Pvt Ltd, a construction company, which employed the workers.
The company has been executing the widening of a section of the national highway between Hnathial town and Dawn village.
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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.
