Pokhara, Jan. 20 : Minister of State for Health Tirtha Ram Dangol administered polio drops to a new-born baby at the maternity ward of the West Regional Hospital eight hours of its birth and initiated the National Immunisation Programme in Kaski district this morning.

A total of 55,212 children below five years of age in the district were administered oral polio plus vaccine today.

Altogether 277 health workers and 1,212 volunteers were mobilised at 300 immunisation centres in the district for this purpose, according to the district public health office.

Other report says, about 80 per cent of children under the age of five were administered polio drops by 3:30 p.m. today under the second phase Intensive National Immunization Programme, according to the child health division of the Department of Health Services.

Even after 3:00 p.m. people were visiting immunisation centres in large numbers to immunise their children against polio, the division said.

The government has set a target of administering polio drops to about 3.95 million children today.

As part of the immunisation programme health workers and volunteers visited door to door to make sure that no child in the target group is missed out.

Altogether 23,000 immunisation centres have been set up and 100,000 volunteers were mobilised throughout the country to make the immunisation programnme a success.

The child health division has thanked office bearers of all organisations, social workers, health workers and volunteers for their active cooperation in the immunisation programme and hoped that similar cooperation will be forthcoming in the future also.