State Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi on Monday asked district Collectors to make necessary arrangements for the pulse polio programme to be taken up in two phases throughout the State on February 19 and April 1.
Speaking to district Collectors during a video-conference, he said about one crore children in the age group of 0-5 would be administered the vaccine. India stands ahead of other nations with regard to polio eradication, he said.
He asked them to impart training to anganwadi workers and para-medical workers on conducting the programme for three days and rope in the departments of woman and child welfare, education, and revenue for creating awareness among students so that they in turn could educate their parents and others on the issue.
Rallies should be organised with schoolchildren, ICDS and medical and health staff to popularise the event and impress upon mothers to get their children administered polio drops without fail. Agriculture labourers, construction workers, and other migrants should also be covered under the programme. All mediums of publicity should be utilised for spreading the message to the general public on a mission mode. Polio booths should be set up at all bus complexes and railway stations.
No polio case
The Chief Secretary said that for four consecutive years not a single case of polio was reported in the State, while West Bengal State registered a case recently. The campaign would be continued for two days even after February 19 so that all those who missed the drops could be given another chance through door-to-door campaign. The Sivaratri festival should also be taken advantage of by campaigning at the temples through hand bills and other media. Special focus should be made on the programme implementation in Agency areas, he added.
