Two workers trapped after wall of opencast coal mine collapses in Jharkhand
Hazaribag (PTI): Two workers have been trapped after the wall of an opencast mine collapsed on a truck in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, police said on Sunday.
The accident occurred around 11 pm on Saturday in the command area of Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) under the Urimari Police Station limits when the highwall of the mine caved in on the coal-loading vehicle, a senior officer said.
A highwall in mining is the face of exposed overburden and coal in a mine, and its stability is important for safety of miners and equipment, experts said.
The trapped coal workers, who were on the truck when the accident occurred, were identified as Sunil Yadav (30) and Raju Paswan (50), Barkagaon sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Pawan Kumar said.
"A rescue operation is underway for the two workers. Another person has already been rescued from the accident site and admitted to a hospital here," he added.
The trapped workers could not be rescued on Saturday night due to darkness, fog and a protest by coal workers there, the SDPO said.
The labourers at the opencast mine stopped their coal extraction activities after the accident, 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.
