Sri Lanka asks India to stop its fishermen from straying into country's waters
Colombo (PTI): The Sri Lankan government has requested India to prevent its fishermen from illegally entering the country's waters for fishing.
Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayaka said the Indian action would be deeply appreciated by the people in northern Sri Lanka as fishing is the only livelihood for them.
His remarks came ahead of the likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka next month.
“We know that India has been helping Sri Lanka a lot. But this help towards the people of Jaffna would be the greatest," Rathnayaka told Parliament.
“They have no other industry and if you go to Mannar and Thalaimannar you will see”.
Rathnayaka said India was of much assistance to the people of northern Sri Lanka during the country's armed conflict with the LTTE.
“They gave them protection and we are thankful to India for that," Rathnayaka stressed.
The biggest service India, the Tamil Nadu government and, their MPs could do is to help the northern people preserve their livelihoods.
“If they cannot extend this help the question would be if their all other assistance was genuine," Rathnayaka said.
The opposition MP Mano Ganesan said that the Sri Lankan government should include the issue of illegal fishing by Indian fishermen in its agenda for talks with the Indian prime minister.
The Sri Lanka Navy said they arrested over 550 Indian fishermen in 2024 for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. So far this year, over 130 Indian fishermen have been arrested.
Prime Minister Modi is likely to visit Sri Lanka in early April. It would be his fourth visit to the country. Previously, Modi visited Sri Lanka in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
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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.
