Sri Lankan police arrest 45 people
briefly impose curfew after protests outside President Rajapaksa's residence
Colombo(PTI): At least 45 people were arrested and a curfew briefly imposed in most parts of Colombo city after hundreds of protesters gathered outside the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa demanding his resignation for failing to address the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
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.
On Thursday protesters 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.
They also demanded President Rajapaksa's resignation.
According to the police, in the protest several, including five policemen, were injured while vehicles were set on fire as a spontaneous expression of public anger over the current economic crisis turned violent.
As of now 45 people have been arrested. Five policemen were injured while a police bus, a Jeep and two motorcycles were burnt. The protesters had also caused damage to a police water cannon truck, a senior police official said.
A curfew was imposed at midnight on Thursday covering most parts of the Colombo district and the suburban police division of Kelaniya but was lifted at 5 am on Friday morning.
In the Kelaniya area, protesters had blocked the main Colombo-Kandy road.
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.
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.
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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.
