Bengaluru gets ready for national pulse polio immunisation programme on February 27

Mop-up operations will be held till March 2: civic chief

The national pulse polio immunisation programme in Bengaluru will be held on February 27, and mop-up operations will be on till March 2. Addressing mediapersons on February 25, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that the estimated target population of children in the city aged below 5 years for the immunisation programme is 10.80 lakh.

“Though there are no reported cases of polio since 2011 and the World Health Organization had declared India a ‘polio free nation’ in 2014, some cases have been reported in neighbouring countries,” he informed.

The immunisation programme will be implemented across Bengaluru with 141 planning units in the BBMP’s urban primary health centres. As many as 3,404 immunisation booths will be established across the 198 wards, apart from special mobile and transit booths in schools, parks, metro stations, religious places, bus stations, market areas, shopping malls and slums.

Nodal officers have been appointed from all departments to oversee and coordinate the programme implementation, coverage and management in the booths. A total of 15,000 persons have been mobilised for the immunisation programme, with support from medical and nursing colleges, Rotary and Lions Clubs, Akshaya Patra, Adhamya Chetana and several other non-governmental organisations.

To locate the nearest pulse polio booth, citizens may call 1533.