Protests erupt in front of Sri Lanka President's residence as economic crisis deepens
Colombo, Mar 31: Police fired tear gas and water cannons at angry protesters on Thursday after they gathered in front of the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence here on Thursday clamouring for his resignation, as the island nation continued to reel under its worst economic crisis in decades.
A foreign exchange crunch in Sri Lanka has led to a shortage of essential goods such as fuel. cooking gas, and power cuts that last up to 13 hours a day.
Protestors shouted slogans, directing their ire against what they perceive as the Rajapaksa regime's gross mismanagement that has exacerbated Sri Lanka's foreign-exchange woes.
No petrol, no gas, no milk powder, no electricity , Go home Gota , placard carrying protestors were then seen walking towards the Rajapaksa private residence here at Pangiriwatte Lane.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon at the protesters after they pulled down a steel barricade, which had been placed near Gotabaya's residence.
On Thursday, Sri Lanka turned off street lights in several parts of Colombo and other towns to conserve electricity.
The country has been grappling with power outages for upto 13 hours on Thursday as the government does not have foreign exchange to pay for its fuel imports.
So dire is the current situation that several government-run hospitals have stopped conducting surgeries as they have run out of essential life-saving medicines.
According to the country's Central Bank, inflation has surged to 17.5% in February this year, and it is expected to rise even further in the near future because the government has allowed the local currency to float freely, resulting in higher prices for fuel and other essentials.
Rajapaksa, however, has defended his government saying the forex crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven.
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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.
