Women activists eager to visit shrine should instead visit villages: Taslima Nasreen
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 16: Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen wondered why women activists were so eager to enter the Sabarimala shrine, which opened for a two-month long pilgrimage season Friday, and said instead they should visit villages where women face several issues.
"I do not understand why women activists are so eager to enter Sabarimala.
Better they should enter the villages where women suffer from domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, hate, where girls have no access to education, health care, and no freedom to take a job or get equal pay," the writer tweeted.
The author has been living in exile in India and Europe after having incurred the wrath of fundamentalists back home over a novel written by her in 1994.
Activist Trupti Desai, who arrived in Kochi en route to the hill shrine early Friday, gave up her plans following protests by devotees and others including the BJP, outside the Kochi airport.
She was not allowed to come out of the airport with protesters vowing not to let her proceed to the Lord Ayyappa temple.
The activist and her colleagues later announced that they would leave Kochi.
The temple complex and nearby areas had witnessed widespread protests after the state government decided to implement the September 28 Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all age groups to pray at the hill shrine.
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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.
