HD Kumaraswamy hits out at CM Siddaramaiah for making tall promises in Telangana
Bengaluru, Nov 12: JD(S) Karnataka President H D Kumaraswamy hit out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for allegedly failing to implement key poll guarantees in the state, and yet making tall promises in poll-bound Telangana.
Kumaraswamy was referring to Siddaramaiah and the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's election campaign in Telangana.
Addressing reporters here, the former chief minister said, "Temporary Chief Minister" Siddaramaiah and "Duplicate Chief Minister" D K Shivakumar became a laughing stock for promising five hours of power to the farmers there, when they already receive 24-hour power supply.
"The 'Duplicate Chief Minister' said in Telangana that they have been giving five hours power daily to the farmers in Karnataka and same would be given to the farmers there if Congress is voted to power. They became a laughing stock because the Telangana government is already giving 24 hours power to farmers," Kumaraswamy claimed.
He added that 2.5 lakh posts are lying vacant in Karnataka but Siddaramaiah and his deputy promised in Telangana that two lakh posts will be filled.
The JD(S) state chief claimed that these vacancies were the backlog from Siddaramaiah's previous tenure as chief minister from 2013 to 2018.
Stating that he was speaking from his personal experience, Kumaraswamy claimed, "I recently had a KDP (Karnataka Development Programme) meeting in my constituency. In place of 28 to 30 agriculture officers and personnel needed in just one taluk office, there were three people running the show. This is the situation in just one taluk.
With regard to the Shakti scheme offering free rides to Karnataka women in non-AC government buses, the former CM said the shortage of buses and staff makes him lower his head.
Speaking about the status of the Gruha Lakshmi' scheme offering Rs 2,000 to women heads of families having BPL/APL ration card, Kumaraswamy said the Congress is promising Rs 4,000 to women heads of families in Telangana.
"Why you did not give Rs 4,000 to women head of the family here? They (Congress) are expanding the scheme across the country. (Yet) they have not given even a single rupee to the 10 lakh (eligible) families, stating that computer server has crashed," he alleged.
Coming to the power scenario in the state where Gruha Jyothi scheme is offering 200 units of free electricity, Kumaraswamy claimed that there is frequent load shedding and that the Congress itself had to hold a public meeting using a mobile phone torch in a certain part of the state.
"This is the state of Gruha Jyothi scheme. Mahadevappa and Kaka Patil who were promised 200 units free power are now living in the dark. There are many police stations which are operating in dark," the JD(S) state chief alleged.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
