Lanka economic crisis: Ruling coalition party urges President Gotabaya to form all-party govt
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lanka's former president Maithripala Sirisena's Freedom Party has called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an all-party government to tide over the worst economic crisis in the island nation and said that it may leave the alliance if its request was ignored.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts the public has been suffering for weeks.
Party's general secretary and a state minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said that the Central Committee decided on Friday to urge for the formation of a government representing all parties in Parliament.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) with 14 Members of Parliament is the largest group within the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ruling coalition.
Sirisena is SLPP chair but he is not a minister.
We have entrusted the party leaders to take a decision as to whether the SLFP would leave the government if the government ignored our request to form an all-party government, Jayasekera said.
The SLPP coalition, an alliance of 11 parties, has been in trouble recently.
Two of the 11 party leaders were sacked as Cabinet ministers while another Cabinet member has joined them in criticising the government's handling of the economic crisis.
On Thursday night, a large demonstration opposite the private residence of Rajapaksa led to mass scale arrests. They held placards calling Gota go home', blaming him for the hardships.
In view of the protests, the President declared a nationwide public emergency with immediate effect from April 1.
Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven where the island's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.
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.
