35,000 migrant children to be covered in pulse polio campaign

CHENNAI: About 35,000 migrant children, including Sri Lankan refugees, will be covered during a special pulse polio campaign on Dec 11 conducted by the Tamil Nadu government who are more susceptible to the disease, an offcial release said.

"The inflow of migrant families to Tamil Nadu is on the rise every year. Mostly, these migrant children are more susceptible to have polio infection because of their constant movement from one place to another, without proper immunisation coverage," the release said.

Enumeration and mapping of all migrant children had been done. Children at construction sites, brick kilns and quarries, wards of migrant agriculture labours and fishermen, pavement dwellers and Sri Lankan refugees will be covered during the exercise, according to the release.

The state had been free of polio since 2004, it said. PTI SA ARP Hazare to visit Chennai on December 18

Chennai, Dec 9 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare and his team would visit the city next week as part of stepping up their demand for a stronger Lokpal.

"Anna and his team will be here on December 18 and participate in a public meeting," India Against Corruption, Chennai-Chapter, Volunteer Venkatnarayanan told reporters here today.

The venue of the public meeting would be announced later, he said.

He said IAC volunteers across Tamil Nadu would observe a token fast on December 11 expressing solidarity with Hazare who is set to stage a similar protest protesting the Standing Committee proposals, which excludes his key demands like bringing lower bureaucracy under the ambit of the ombudsman besides provisions for Citizen's Charter.

"The token fast will be conducted on December 11 across Tamil Nadu coinciding Anna's fast in Jantar Mantar in New Delhi," he said.