Kondapi/ Ongole: Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy inaugurated the district-wide Pulse Polio programme at the Panchayat office of Turpu Nayudupalem in Tanguturu mandal on Sunday, by administering polio drops to children. The district collector, P Raja Babu, separately launched the campaign at Rajiv Gruhakalpa Urban Primary Health Centre in Ongole.

Administering the polio drops in Turpu Nayudupalem, Minister Swamy urged parents to responsibly ensure their children receive vaccination to protect them from polio in future. He directed the health officials to conduct door-to-door visits across the district to achieve 100 per cent coverage. At Ongole, Collector Raja Babu revealed that 244112 children aged 0 to 5 years reside in the district, and comprehensive measures have been implemented to vaccinate all of them. He explained that vaccination centres were established at all urban and rural primary health centres, bus stands, and railway stations on Sunday. Medical and health department staff will conduct house-to-house visits on Monday and Tuesday to reach children who missed the initial drive, he announced. Praising the facilities at the UPHC, the collector encouraged residents to use government health services rather than spend unnecessarily at private hospitals.

District Medical and Health Officer Dr Venkateswarlu, Ongole Municipal Commissioner Dr K Venkateswara Rao, Dr Anna Keerthana, and other health department staff participated in the programme.