Dy CM Shivakumar to hold daily breakfast meetings with MLAs to quell discontent
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar on Thursday said he would hold regular breakfast meetings with party MLAs and workers to listen to their grievances, complaints and suggestions.
The move is seen as one aimed at containing the brewing discontent among some MLAs and senior party functionaries and reaching out to them ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
"All the MLAs had confusion regarding the time. I have fixed the time from 10 am to 10.30 am (for the MLAs). I am also deciding a time for our party workers," Shivakumar told reporters.
He said the meetings are aimed at listening to and addressing the grievances of the MLAs, including relating to developmental works in their constituencies.
Shivakumar said these meetings would take place everyday barring the days when he is out of Bengaluru.
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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.
