TIRUCHY: As many as 9,29,488 children were given polio drops in 6,589 centres across Central districts of Tiruchy, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Pudukkottai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam on Sunday.
Official sources said the drive involved the following numbers district-wise, in terms of number of centres and number of children covered respectively in each district: In Tiruchy, it was 1,569 centres and 2,68,390 children, 831 and 1,19,603 in Karur , 307 and 50,000 in Perambalur, 549 and 61586 in Ariyalur, 1,356 and 1,63,243 in Pudukkottai, 870 and 1,23,640 in Tiruvarur district and 1,027 centres and 1,43,026 children in Nagapattinam district.
State Backward Classes minister Ms. Valarmathi inaugurated the pulse polio immunisation programme at Tiruchy in the presence of Tiruchy collector S. Sivarasu, while State Food minister R. Kamaraj and Transport minister M R Vijayabaskar inaugurated at Tiruvarur and Karur district respectively.
The Government chief whip Thamarai S. Rajendran inaugurated PPIP at Ariyalur in the presence of district collector Ms M. Viajayalakshmi.
Pudukkottai collector Ms. P. Uma Maheswari launched the scheme at Pudukkottai, and Nagapattinam DRO M. Indhumathi at Nagapattinam, the sources added.
Apart from the government machinery, the Rotary Club International the sponsor of the IPPI project, also administered the polio drops in several places of Tiruchy and its suburbs, according to Nandha Senthilvel, member of the Rotary Club of Tiruchy Metropolitan and vice president of the ‘Pulse Polio’ programme.
2.25L kids covered in Thanjai: In Thanjavur, polio drops were administered through 1,510 centres on Sunday, out of which 128 were in urban areas while 1382 were in rural areas.
R. Duraikannu, State Agriculture minister inaugurated the administration of polio drops at the Primary Healthy Centre at Kabisthalam in Papanasam panchayat union. Left out children will also be covered in follow-up. A total of 51 mobile units were pressed into service to cover children in transit.
