The Hindu. March 8, 2007
New Delhi, March 8. (PTI): The Government is considering to launch a national programme for the prevention and control of fluorosis, which has affected 25 million people in the country.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Panabaka Lakshmi said the Government is planning to launch a National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis. She said, it has been estimated that the population actually affected by flurosis in the country is 25 million.
Fluorosis, which affects due to the content of flouride in drinking water and food products, is a problem in 19 states. Lakshmi said Skeletal Fluorosis, a bone disease that occurs due to excessive consumption of fluoride in water, is one of the three forms of fluorosis, which is prevalent in the country. The States that are affected are Andhra Pardesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Tawa Matsya Sangh, fishing co-operative in Madhya Pradesh, loses licence
Shailesh Kumar
The future of the Tawa Matsya Sangh (tms), a cooperative of fisherfolk operating in the Tawa reservoir in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district, is firmly on hold. On December 23, 2006, their licence to fish in the reservoir expired, and since then all hell has broken loose. The reservoir was created when a dam was built on the river Tawa, a tributary of the Narmada river, in 1974. tms, comprising tribals the dam had displaced, was formed as a platform demanding their right to fish in the reservoir; tms has managed fishing there since 1996.Despite the expiry of the licence, and non-renewal, tms fisherfolk continued to fish in the reservoir.
In early January, 2007, the forest department at Sakhota Naka intercepted two tms motorboats and 60 kg of fish. “When we approached the forest ranger, he asked for Rs 5,000 as penalty. We said we don’t have that much money; instead, 5,000 fisherfolks can sit on dharna here,” says Guliabai, a tms leader, of Kesla village.
“On January 25, 2007, thousands gathered in protest. Republic Day witnessed a flag-hosting ceremony and we asked for our boats back.” Then women commandeered two boats of the forest department at Sakhota Naka, and another two at Tekapar. A police complaint was lodged against them, and when a posse turned up, tribals captured two police jeeps.
A police force surrounded villages but the fisherfolk continued with the dharna, at Daudi village, and did not return the boats. The police force had to retreat, and the forest department gave up. They returned the boats on the night of January 28, 2007; fisherfolk reciprocated two days later. “The forest department also took our fishing nets when they captured the Sangh’s boats,” says Maniram Dhurve, of Manna village. “They have not returned these. Neither do they allow us to fish. The net cost Rs 300 a kg. Mine weighed 8 kg. My brother is physically challenged. We don’t have help.”Dhurve’s distress is not symptomatic of tms.
The latter, often touted as a model fishery regime, approached the Central Empowered Committee (cec, a body the Supreme Court set up to advise it on forest-related matters) on February 2, 2007, to seek relief and the right to fish. A hearing was held on February 8, 2007.Caught pincer-liketms is caught in a regulatory pincer. On the one hand, there is the Madhya Pradesh Matsya Mahasangh (MPMM), the state’s nodal fishery body, which shows no signs of renewing tms’s licence. The agency, responsible for granting inland fishing rights statewide, is itself eyeing the resource-rich reservoir. tms fears if the nodal body wins the case, it may restrain tms from a bid, despite the co-operative’s huge success in the last 10 years. “On December 14, 2006, we approached the Supreme Court for fishing rights in the reservoir. The matter is sub-judice, so I can’t comment much on the performance of tms. Extending fishing rights to tms is not in my hands, it is up to the government to give them the rights after the Supreme Court passes judgment,” says Kanchan Jain, managing director, mpmm. On the other hand, there is the matter of the forest department’s jurisdiction over the reservoir, via the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Over time, various areas around the reservoir were declared protected; then came a proposal to carve, out of these protected areas, the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
The future of the Tawa Matsya Sangh (tms), a cooperative of fisherfolk operating in the Tawa reservoir in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district, is firmly on hold. On December 23, 2006, their licence to fish in the reservoir expired, and since then all hell has broken loose. The reservoir was created when a dam was built on the river Tawa, a tributary of the Narmada river, in 1974. tms, comprising tribals the dam had displaced, was formed as a platform demanding their right to fish in the reservoir; tms has managed fishing there since 1996.Despite the expiry of the licence, and non-renewal, tms fisherfolk continued to fish in the reservoir.
In early January, 2007, the forest department at Sakhota Naka intercepted two tms motorboats and 60 kg of fish. “When we approached the forest ranger, he asked for Rs 5,000 as penalty. We said we don’t have that much money; instead, 5,000 fisherfolks can sit on dharna here,” says Guliabai, a tms leader, of Kesla village.
“On January 25, 2007, thousands gathered in protest. Republic Day witnessed a flag-hosting ceremony and we asked for our boats back.” Then women commandeered two boats of the forest department at Sakhota Naka, and another two at Tekapar. A police complaint was lodged against them, and when a posse turned up, tribals captured two police jeeps.
A police force surrounded villages but the fisherfolk continued with the dharna, at Daudi village, and did not return the boats. The police force had to retreat, and the forest department gave up. They returned the boats on the night of January 28, 2007; fisherfolk reciprocated two days later. “The forest department also took our fishing nets when they captured the Sangh’s boats,” says Maniram Dhurve, of Manna village. “They have not returned these. Neither do they allow us to fish. The net cost Rs 300 a kg. Mine weighed 8 kg. My brother is physically challenged. We don’t have help.”Dhurve’s distress is not symptomatic of tms.
The latter, often touted as a model fishery regime, approached the Central Empowered Committee (cec, a body the Supreme Court set up to advise it on forest-related matters) on February 2, 2007, to seek relief and the right to fish. A hearing was held on February 8, 2007.Caught pincer-liketms is caught in a regulatory pincer. On the one hand, there is the Madhya Pradesh Matsya Mahasangh (MPMM), the state’s nodal fishery body, which shows no signs of renewing tms’s licence. The agency, responsible for granting inland fishing rights statewide, is itself eyeing the resource-rich reservoir. tms fears if the nodal body wins the case, it may restrain tms from a bid, despite the co-operative’s huge success in the last 10 years. “On December 14, 2006, we approached the Supreme Court for fishing rights in the reservoir. The matter is sub-judice, so I can’t comment much on the performance of tms. Extending fishing rights to tms is not in my hands, it is up to the government to give them the rights after the Supreme Court passes judgment,” says Kanchan Jain, managing director, mpmm. On the other hand, there is the matter of the forest department’s jurisdiction over the reservoir, via the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Over time, various areas around the reservoir were declared protected; then came a proposal to carve, out of these protected areas, the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
People's lives affected due to water crisis
A Dalit women was allegedly beaten up by two young men in Thakurpura area of Shivpuri town a district in
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Every second child in India is abused
Hindustan Times, Nandini R Iyer, New Delhi, March 9, 2007
Every second child in India has suffered some form of abuse finds the world's largest-ever study on child abuse. Conducted by Prayaas with support from Unicef and the Department of Women and Child Development, the study, which interviewed 17,000 children and such stakeholders as teachers and NGOs, reports that over 50 per cent children interviewed reported some form of physical, sexual or economic abuse.
At least 25 per cent respondents had been sexually abused - 30 per cent of them by family members of relatives - finds the National Study on Child Abuse. Forty per cent of all children interviewed said they were subjected to physical violence, and five per cent of these said they had resorted to substance abuse to cope with being battered regularly. The year-long study that covers 13 states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Madhya Pradesh concluded in December 2006. Findings were submitted early this year to the government which is expected to make the study public by the end of the month. "The findings are indeed very serious," said a senior official with the Department of Women and Child Development. "We were aware that there is a problem of child abuse in the country which is why we participated in the study." Based on the study, the department will be asking the Planning Commission for Rs 2,000 crore in the 11th Plan (as against Rs 215 crore in the last plan) for various child protection schemes, said sources. "This study will act as a base for various legislations and schemes," said senior police officer Amod Kanth, who is the founder secretary of Prayaas.
"Child protection is a matter of serious concern," he said, but refused to discuss the findings of the study. Significantly, the study also notes that by the government's own admission, 35 million homeless children in India need protection. But only an abysmally low 35,000 are actually placed in shelters provided by the government and non-government organisations.
Every second child in India has suffered some form of abuse finds the world's largest-ever study on child abuse. Conducted by Prayaas with support from Unicef and the Department of Women and Child Development, the study, which interviewed 17,000 children and such stakeholders as teachers and NGOs, reports that over 50 per cent children interviewed reported some form of physical, sexual or economic abuse.
At least 25 per cent respondents had been sexually abused - 30 per cent of them by family members of relatives - finds the National Study on Child Abuse. Forty per cent of all children interviewed said they were subjected to physical violence, and five per cent of these said they had resorted to substance abuse to cope with being battered regularly. The year-long study that covers 13 states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Madhya Pradesh concluded in December 2006. Findings were submitted early this year to the government which is expected to make the study public by the end of the month. "The findings are indeed very serious," said a senior official with the Department of Women and Child Development. "We were aware that there is a problem of child abuse in the country which is why we participated in the study." Based on the study, the department will be asking the Planning Commission for Rs 2,000 crore in the 11th Plan (as against Rs 215 crore in the last plan) for various child protection schemes, said sources. "This study will act as a base for various legislations and schemes," said senior police officer Amod Kanth, who is the founder secretary of Prayaas.
"Child protection is a matter of serious concern," he said, but refused to discuss the findings of the study. Significantly, the study also notes that by the government's own admission, 35 million homeless children in India need protection. But only an abysmally low 35,000 are actually placed in shelters provided by the government and non-government organisations.
Rains hailstrom affects crops in Morena villgaes
A day back rains lashed parts of Morena region in the Chambal division of state of Madhya Pradesh which have affected the crops in the three tehsils of the district. Affected farmers came out and demonstrated on the road asking for compensation from the Government.
About two dozens villages had experienced sudden rains and hailstrom . Grain growing in the fields have been affected and even their was loss of animal life. Affected farmers had made demonstration outside the Collectors office and also around villages jhigani sikroda jori and charai village. The Commissioner sensing the pressure of the people has immediately given instructed revenue department to undertakes evaluation submits its report.
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About two dozens villages had experienced sudden rains and hailstrom . Grain growing in the fields have been affected and even their was loss of animal life. Affected farmers had made demonstration outside the Collectors office and also around villages jhigani sikroda jori and charai village. The Commissioner sensing the pressure of the people has immediately given instructed revenue department to undertakes evaluation submits its report.
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
WATER CRISIS IN THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
WATER CRISIS ISSUE IN MADHYA PRADESH
Availability of safe drinking water supplies is a challenge today in districts of states like Madhya Pradesh, and is particularly acute in some districts of the state. Given less rainfall in those districts, increasing depletion and contamination of its surface and ground water resources contribute to the crisis.
www. newswhichmatter.blogspot.com has been raising this concern regularly and this is the situation in now what will happen in coming summers ? Thankfully Central Chronicle editorial also raises similar concern. Hope many others will join the crusade !
Editorial in Central Chronicle, March 7, 2007
With the beginning of the month of March, water shortage is being felt in many parts of the state. For the last several years, as soon as the Holi festival was over people began to experience water shortage. A shortage of potable water at this stage ends up with grave problems in the availability of water in later months. Water is one of the basic needs of man. The issue has assumed so much importance that even the parties in power are losing the mandate of the people in future elections. A major part of the budgets are allotted for water availability in the State and local bodies budgets. Despite of this hefty provision, the people are continuing to face water shortages in the summer months. The problem persists in several parts of Madhya Pradesh and even the State capital Bhopal is not aloof from the same. Hand pumps have gone dry so also the pipelines are without any water.
Search for water from alternative sources is on; old wells are being repaired. Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Sagar are some of the places where people have started experiencing shortage of water. Gwalior residents are only getting one-time water supply since the rains stopped. Even after good rains this season, the ground water level in many places has not increased. Every year the same story is getting repeated and still no foolproof efforts seem to be taking shape. The government would have to make drastic efforts and search out solutions immediately. Both big cities and small towns are grappling with water shortages. The situation is more worse in the rural and adivasi areas. In the state capital, despite facility of supply of potable water through tankers, the problem still persists. It is learnt the Jabalpur residents are coming on the roads in protest.
Availability of safe drinking water supplies is a challenge today in districts of states like Madhya Pradesh, and is particularly acute in some districts of the state. Given less rainfall in those districts, increasing depletion and contamination of its surface and ground water resources contribute to the crisis.
www. newswhichmatter.blogspot.com has been raising this concern regularly and this is the situation in now what will happen in coming summers ? Thankfully Central Chronicle editorial also raises similar concern. Hope many others will join the crusade !
Editorial in Central Chronicle, March 7, 2007
With the beginning of the month of March, water shortage is being felt in many parts of the state. For the last several years, as soon as the Holi festival was over people began to experience water shortage. A shortage of potable water at this stage ends up with grave problems in the availability of water in later months. Water is one of the basic needs of man. The issue has assumed so much importance that even the parties in power are losing the mandate of the people in future elections. A major part of the budgets are allotted for water availability in the State and local bodies budgets. Despite of this hefty provision, the people are continuing to face water shortages in the summer months. The problem persists in several parts of Madhya Pradesh and even the State capital Bhopal is not aloof from the same. Hand pumps have gone dry so also the pipelines are without any water.
Search for water from alternative sources is on; old wells are being repaired. Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Sagar are some of the places where people have started experiencing shortage of water. Gwalior residents are only getting one-time water supply since the rains stopped. Even after good rains this season, the ground water level in many places has not increased. Every year the same story is getting repeated and still no foolproof efforts seem to be taking shape. The government would have to make drastic efforts and search out solutions immediately. Both big cities and small towns are grappling with water shortages. The situation is more worse in the rural and adivasi areas. In the state capital, despite facility of supply of potable water through tankers, the problem still persists. It is learnt the Jabalpur residents are coming on the roads in protest.
Bhopal gas survivors on fast
Bhopal: Four survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster are on an indefinite fast to demand healthcare and economic rehabilitation for thousands of people affected by toxic fumes that emanated from the now-defunct Union Carbide pesticide plant more than 22 years ago.The hunger strike, which began on Monday, is part of their campaign 'Jeene Ka Haq' (Right to Live) to mark the first anniversary of their protest march from Bhopal to New Delhi in support of their demands. The campaign, which began 12 days ago, is to also demand social support for the survivors and their families, safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the plant site.
The participants include Rashida Bee, who had lost six family members to cancer for having inhaled the noxious fumes. A winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, she suffers from chronic physical and mental problems. The others are Guddi Bee and Jabbar Khan, who live next to the Union Carbide factory and are suffering due to contaminated ground water. The fourth is Shehazadi Bee, who was exposed to the toxic gases in 1984 and later to the contaminated water when she moved close to the factory. Rachna Dhingra and Satinath Sarangi, who have been working along with the survivors for the last several years to get them relief, have also joined them. On the night of December 2, 1984, over 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl Iso-Cyanate (MIC) gas spewed out of the Union Carbide plant, killing more than 3,000 people instantly and maiming thousands others for life. More than 15,000 affected people have since died. The leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations, including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz, want the state government to ensure that the toxic waste is not allowed to contaminate surrounding areas and the survivors are provided safe drinking water, as directed by the Supreme Court. They are also demanding free medical care for the affected people, implementation of a drug policy to ensure proper treatment with quality medicines and greater emphasis on yoga and herbal care to treat the gas survivors. (IANS)
The participants include Rashida Bee, who had lost six family members to cancer for having inhaled the noxious fumes. A winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, she suffers from chronic physical and mental problems. The others are Guddi Bee and Jabbar Khan, who live next to the Union Carbide factory and are suffering due to contaminated ground water. The fourth is Shehazadi Bee, who was exposed to the toxic gases in 1984 and later to the contaminated water when she moved close to the factory. Rachna Dhingra and Satinath Sarangi, who have been working along with the survivors for the last several years to get them relief, have also joined them. On the night of December 2, 1984, over 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl Iso-Cyanate (MIC) gas spewed out of the Union Carbide plant, killing more than 3,000 people instantly and maiming thousands others for life. More than 15,000 affected people have since died. The leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations, including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz, want the state government to ensure that the toxic waste is not allowed to contaminate surrounding areas and the survivors are provided safe drinking water, as directed by the Supreme Court. They are also demanding free medical care for the affected people, implementation of a drug policy to ensure proper treatment with quality medicines and greater emphasis on yoga and herbal care to treat the gas survivors. (IANS)
Monday, March 05, 2007
Schools don't have adequate teachers
The school education in the country is plagued by lack of trained teachers and there are a sizable number of schools facing inadequate number of teachers, according to a recent government survey. About 21 per cent of the 25,33,205 full-time teachers in primary schools are untrained teachers. Interestingly, 4.6 per cent of these teachers are having academic qualification below secondary, the recent seventh all India school education survey conducted by NCERT in collaboration with state governments and national informatics centre found.
Similarly, of the 13,51,499 full-time teachers in the upper-primary schools, nearly 19 per cent of the teachers have not got any training. About 20 per cent of these teachers are having academic qualification as secondary or equivalent, the survey showed. The scenario is little better in the secondary schools where about 13 per cent of the 10,51,733 teachers are not trained. At this stage, about 12 per cent of the teachers had the academic qualification as higher secondary or equivalent, it said. The percentage of untrained teachers at higher secondary level is about 17. Out of the 1,46,526 para teachers at primary stage, 3.6 per cent teachers were having academic qualification as below secondary. Similarly about 23 per cent of para teachers at upper primary stage were having the academic qualification as secondary or equivalent.
Similarly, of the 13,51,499 full-time teachers in the upper-primary schools, nearly 19 per cent of the teachers have not got any training. About 20 per cent of these teachers are having academic qualification as secondary or equivalent, the survey showed. The scenario is little better in the secondary schools where about 13 per cent of the 10,51,733 teachers are not trained. At this stage, about 12 per cent of the teachers had the academic qualification as higher secondary or equivalent, it said. The percentage of untrained teachers at higher secondary level is about 17. Out of the 1,46,526 para teachers at primary stage, 3.6 per cent teachers were having academic qualification as below secondary. Similarly about 23 per cent of para teachers at upper primary stage were having the academic qualification as secondary or equivalent.
MP gets 100 crores for rural roads
The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has released first instalment of Rs. 100.00 crore under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for development of rural roads. The grant is towards the Plan expenditure and will be subject to the conditions laid down from time to time in the guidelines of the PMGSY and supplementary directions. PMGSY was launched in December 2000 as a 100 per cent Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a target of connecting every habitation that has a population of more than 1000 within the next three years and every habitation with a population of more than 500 by the year 2007 i.e. by the end of the 10th Five Year Plan through good all-weather road.
A sum of Rs.20,400.70 crore has been released By GOI to the Indian States and Union territories towards the programme and up to December 2006, 35,868 roadworks covering a length of 1,07,569.08 Kms. have been completed.
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A sum of Rs.20,400.70 crore has been released By GOI to the Indian States and Union territories towards the programme and up to December 2006, 35,868 roadworks covering a length of 1,07,569.08 Kms. have been completed.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Polio - should we give up dream of eradication or not ?
By MARIA CHENG Sunday, March 04, 2007
LONDON - Nearly 20 years ago, the World Health Organization and its partners launched an ambitious program to eradicate polio by the end of the millennium. That deadline passed and another was missed in 2005 _ and polio still strikes about 2,000 people a year, mostly children.At a WHO meeting this week, some leading experts asked a grim question: Is it time to abandon the goal of eradication and focus instead on containing the disease? The answer, for most, was no _ even though many had doubts."Many people wonder why we are spending all this time and effort on polio when there are much bigger problems," said Dr. Donald A. Henderson, who headed WHO's smallpox eradication program in the 1970s. Smallpox is the only disease ever to have been eradicated.There is no question the polio eradication program has reaped rewards: Since it began in 1988, the incidence of the disease has dropped by more than 99 percent. But with the number of polio cases at a virtual standstill for the last five years, some experts worry that the campaign by WHO and its partners _ the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International and UNICEF _ is running aground.
"Even if things quiet down in the countries where we have problems, there will be another area that bursts into flames," said Dr. Ellie Ehrenfeld, who sits on the WHO Advisory Committee for Polio Eradication."We are living in a different world where I'm not sure what eradication means anymore," said Ehrenfeld, who was not invited to Wednesday's meeting.Critics of the eradication program note smallpox was wiped out in a decade, while the polio campaign is entering its 19th year. WHO is seeking a $575 million budget for polio eradication for 2007-2008.
In a speech to participants, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan urged participants not to give up."We are facing our best and perhaps our last chance to eradicate polio," she said, adding that leaving the job unfinished would squander the more than $5 billion invested so far because it would open the way for a resurgence of the disease.The four polio-endemic countries _ Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan _ are also intent on ridding the world of the virus."We will spare no effort in eradicating polio," said Naresh Dayal of India's Ministry of Health and Welfare. This year, India will spend $286 million to fight the polio virus."While eradication is possible, we shouldn't even consider moving to a control strategy," said Dayal.
Others are not convinced."We cannot continue forever," said Dr. Isao Arita, another WHO smallpox veteran. "Everyone wishes WHO to accomplish the task but there is a limit."For WHO, giving up on eradication would a crushing blow."There's an almost religious conviction that they must see this through," said Dr. Samuel Katz, an infectious diseases specialist at Duke University and co-inventor of the measles vaccine."But there are other things we could do that would be as beneficial to child health rather than spending another billion dollars in frustration," he said.In the countries where polio occurs, there are many competing health priorities, including respiratory and diarrheal diseases, malaria and AIDS.
Some experts say that a polio containment policy wouldn't necessarily be radically different from an eradication policy, except that it would free up money for other health problems.Tighter regulation in countries where polio occurs could help trap the virus, and international officials might adopt measures such as requiring proof of vaccination for travelers coming from polio-endemic countries.WHO and its partners insist it is possible to eradicate polio, and that the only challenges are logistical.Different problems plague the four endemic countries: In Nigeria, the weak health system coupled with a vaccine boycott in some areas gets the blame; in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the virus moves back and forth across the border where the official focus is on the war on terror; in India, children are often infected with other viruses, making the polio vaccine less effective.Some experts think a different vaccine could help. The eradication campaign uses the oral vaccine because it protects entire communities. But while the oral vaccine is cheap and easy to administer, there is a downside: For approximately every 2.5 million doses, it causes one case of polio.WHO is looking into the more expensive injectable polio vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus that cannot trigger polio. Results from the studies won't be available until next year.WHO insists it is considering all options _ except giving up on eradication."Any program would be negligent if it didn't check all the possibilities," said Dr. David Heymann, WHO's top polio official, "but our partners didn't want to hear about a control strategy."
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
LONDON - Nearly 20 years ago, the World Health Organization and its partners launched an ambitious program to eradicate polio by the end of the millennium. That deadline passed and another was missed in 2005 _ and polio still strikes about 2,000 people a year, mostly children.At a WHO meeting this week, some leading experts asked a grim question: Is it time to abandon the goal of eradication and focus instead on containing the disease? The answer, for most, was no _ even though many had doubts."Many people wonder why we are spending all this time and effort on polio when there are much bigger problems," said Dr. Donald A. Henderson, who headed WHO's smallpox eradication program in the 1970s. Smallpox is the only disease ever to have been eradicated.There is no question the polio eradication program has reaped rewards: Since it began in 1988, the incidence of the disease has dropped by more than 99 percent. But with the number of polio cases at a virtual standstill for the last five years, some experts worry that the campaign by WHO and its partners _ the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International and UNICEF _ is running aground.
"Even if things quiet down in the countries where we have problems, there will be another area that bursts into flames," said Dr. Ellie Ehrenfeld, who sits on the WHO Advisory Committee for Polio Eradication."We are living in a different world where I'm not sure what eradication means anymore," said Ehrenfeld, who was not invited to Wednesday's meeting.Critics of the eradication program note smallpox was wiped out in a decade, while the polio campaign is entering its 19th year. WHO is seeking a $575 million budget for polio eradication for 2007-2008.
In a speech to participants, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan urged participants not to give up."We are facing our best and perhaps our last chance to eradicate polio," she said, adding that leaving the job unfinished would squander the more than $5 billion invested so far because it would open the way for a resurgence of the disease.The four polio-endemic countries _ Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan _ are also intent on ridding the world of the virus."We will spare no effort in eradicating polio," said Naresh Dayal of India's Ministry of Health and Welfare. This year, India will spend $286 million to fight the polio virus."While eradication is possible, we shouldn't even consider moving to a control strategy," said Dayal.
Others are not convinced."We cannot continue forever," said Dr. Isao Arita, another WHO smallpox veteran. "Everyone wishes WHO to accomplish the task but there is a limit."For WHO, giving up on eradication would a crushing blow."There's an almost religious conviction that they must see this through," said Dr. Samuel Katz, an infectious diseases specialist at Duke University and co-inventor of the measles vaccine."But there are other things we could do that would be as beneficial to child health rather than spending another billion dollars in frustration," he said.In the countries where polio occurs, there are many competing health priorities, including respiratory and diarrheal diseases, malaria and AIDS.
Some experts say that a polio containment policy wouldn't necessarily be radically different from an eradication policy, except that it would free up money for other health problems.Tighter regulation in countries where polio occurs could help trap the virus, and international officials might adopt measures such as requiring proof of vaccination for travelers coming from polio-endemic countries.WHO and its partners insist it is possible to eradicate polio, and that the only challenges are logistical.Different problems plague the four endemic countries: In Nigeria, the weak health system coupled with a vaccine boycott in some areas gets the blame; in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the virus moves back and forth across the border where the official focus is on the war on terror; in India, children are often infected with other viruses, making the polio vaccine less effective.Some experts think a different vaccine could help. The eradication campaign uses the oral vaccine because it protects entire communities. But while the oral vaccine is cheap and easy to administer, there is a downside: For approximately every 2.5 million doses, it causes one case of polio.WHO is looking into the more expensive injectable polio vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus that cannot trigger polio. Results from the studies won't be available until next year.WHO insists it is considering all options _ except giving up on eradication."Any program would be negligent if it didn't check all the possibilities," said Dr. David Heymann, WHO's top polio official, "but our partners didn't want to hear about a control strategy."
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
Found in Bhopal, the last king of France
Found in Bhopal, the last king of France
Angelique ChrisafisParis, March 3
Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon, an Indian lawyer and part-time farmer, has always been fascinated by France. Framed pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the palace of Versailles decorate his house in a dusty, bustling suburb of the central Indian city of Bhopal. He gave his children French names even though he has never set foot in France.
But he may soon make his first trip to Paris, after he was visited by a relative of Prince Philip, who told him that he is the first in line to the lost French throne.This Indian father-of-three is being feted as the long-lost descendent of the Bourbon kings who ruled France from the 16th century to the French revolution.
A distant cousin of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, he is alleged to be not only related to the current Bourbon king of Spain and the Bourbon descendants still in France, but to have more claim than any of them to the French crown. The story of a potential Asian dauphin to one of the most important royal houses of Europe appears to be a poke in the eye for colonial history, and has sparked a rush of interest among royals in Europe.
Prince Michael of Greece, the cousin of Prince Philip, this week published a historical novel called Le Rajah de Bourbon, which traces the swashbuckling story of Mr Bourbon's first royal ancestor in India. Prince Michael believes Jean de Bourbon was a nephew of the first Bourbon French king, Henry IV. In the mid-16th century Jean embarked on an action-packed adventure across the world which saw him survive assassination attempts and kidnap by pirates to be sold at an Egyptian slave market and serve in the Ethiopian army.
In 1560, he turned up at the court of the Mogul emperor Akbar. It was the beginning of a long line of Bourbons in India, who centuries later would serve as the administrators of Bhopal and become the second most important family in the region.
Michael of Greece, who lives in Paris and is of Bourbon descent, believes his detective work on his newfound Indian "cousins" is more than just the latest whimsy in a history of attempts to uncover relatives of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. "If I am right — and I don't have absolute proof, but I completely believe in my theory - then Balthazar Bourbon would be the eldest in the line," he said. "This is the cherry on the cake. Mr Bourbon is head of a decent, dignified, middle-class Indian family. They look so Indian and yet bear this name.
When you look at them, it seems incredible. The more unbelievable it is, the more I believe in it." He said several of his royal relatives in Spain and France were "quite excited and thrilled to have found a new branch". He was in favour of a DNA test, perhaps from a surviving lock of Bourbon hair, to establish the facts.
From his home in the Bhopal suburbs, Mr Bourbon, 48, said he would be glad to take a DNA test, but remained stoical about the "hypothetical question" of whether he was heir to the throne. Conscious of the bloody outcome for royals in France, he felt royal status could bring "trouble", not to mention questions from skeptical historians. Still, he has long had a brass plaque above his front door reading "House of Bourbon" with the fleur-de-lis crest of the French monarchy. His wife runs the neighbouring school for local children, called the Bourbon school. The family is Catholic and keeps Bourbon relics, including a sword, in their home. He said he felt "a sense of pride" when contemplating the picture of Versailles on his wall.
But he is aware that his family's fortunes waned in Bhopal long ago. He describes the Indian branch of the family as Bourbons on the rocks. "From the day I was born, I was made to understand that I belonged to the family of the Bourbons," he said. "I may be from a royal family but I live my life as a commoner. I didn't have time to learn French as a teenager because my father's death meant I had to work to look after my mother and sisters. Life has been very tough for me." When his sister went to France on holiday she visited a castle once owned by Bourbon kings. It was closed to the public but she showed her Indian passport with the Bourbon name and was allowed in.
"I don't know if any of this will change my life," Mr Bourbon said. "The fact is, we've been having visitors from England, France and across Europe for years, curious about our family name.
"All these travellers, all this publicity, but nothing has happened yet. So how can I believe that something will change now?"
Angelique ChrisafisParis, March 3
Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon, an Indian lawyer and part-time farmer, has always been fascinated by France. Framed pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the palace of Versailles decorate his house in a dusty, bustling suburb of the central Indian city of Bhopal. He gave his children French names even though he has never set foot in France.
But he may soon make his first trip to Paris, after he was visited by a relative of Prince Philip, who told him that he is the first in line to the lost French throne.This Indian father-of-three is being feted as the long-lost descendent of the Bourbon kings who ruled France from the 16th century to the French revolution.
A distant cousin of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, he is alleged to be not only related to the current Bourbon king of Spain and the Bourbon descendants still in France, but to have more claim than any of them to the French crown. The story of a potential Asian dauphin to one of the most important royal houses of Europe appears to be a poke in the eye for colonial history, and has sparked a rush of interest among royals in Europe.
Prince Michael of Greece, the cousin of Prince Philip, this week published a historical novel called Le Rajah de Bourbon, which traces the swashbuckling story of Mr Bourbon's first royal ancestor in India. Prince Michael believes Jean de Bourbon was a nephew of the first Bourbon French king, Henry IV. In the mid-16th century Jean embarked on an action-packed adventure across the world which saw him survive assassination attempts and kidnap by pirates to be sold at an Egyptian slave market and serve in the Ethiopian army.
In 1560, he turned up at the court of the Mogul emperor Akbar. It was the beginning of a long line of Bourbons in India, who centuries later would serve as the administrators of Bhopal and become the second most important family in the region.
Michael of Greece, who lives in Paris and is of Bourbon descent, believes his detective work on his newfound Indian "cousins" is more than just the latest whimsy in a history of attempts to uncover relatives of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. "If I am right — and I don't have absolute proof, but I completely believe in my theory - then Balthazar Bourbon would be the eldest in the line," he said. "This is the cherry on the cake. Mr Bourbon is head of a decent, dignified, middle-class Indian family. They look so Indian and yet bear this name.
When you look at them, it seems incredible. The more unbelievable it is, the more I believe in it." He said several of his royal relatives in Spain and France were "quite excited and thrilled to have found a new branch". He was in favour of a DNA test, perhaps from a surviving lock of Bourbon hair, to establish the facts.
From his home in the Bhopal suburbs, Mr Bourbon, 48, said he would be glad to take a DNA test, but remained stoical about the "hypothetical question" of whether he was heir to the throne. Conscious of the bloody outcome for royals in France, he felt royal status could bring "trouble", not to mention questions from skeptical historians. Still, he has long had a brass plaque above his front door reading "House of Bourbon" with the fleur-de-lis crest of the French monarchy. His wife runs the neighbouring school for local children, called the Bourbon school. The family is Catholic and keeps Bourbon relics, including a sword, in their home. He said he felt "a sense of pride" when contemplating the picture of Versailles on his wall.
But he is aware that his family's fortunes waned in Bhopal long ago. He describes the Indian branch of the family as Bourbons on the rocks. "From the day I was born, I was made to understand that I belonged to the family of the Bourbons," he said. "I may be from a royal family but I live my life as a commoner. I didn't have time to learn French as a teenager because my father's death meant I had to work to look after my mother and sisters. Life has been very tough for me." When his sister went to France on holiday she visited a castle once owned by Bourbon kings. It was closed to the public but she showed her Indian passport with the Bourbon name and was allowed in.
"I don't know if any of this will change my life," Mr Bourbon said. "The fact is, we've been having visitors from England, France and across Europe for years, curious about our family name.
"All these travellers, all this publicity, but nothing has happened yet. So how can I believe that something will change now?"
Saturday, March 03, 2007
37 pc women face domestic violence
Over 37 per cent married women in the country were victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands with Bihar topping the list. Women in Himachal Pradesh faced less violence at home compared to other states in the country.
The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes. "Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse," the survey said. The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).
In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas.
While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages. It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).
Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6) and Kolkata (26.7). Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.
In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts (22.8). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4). Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).
The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes. "Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse," the survey said. The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).
In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas.
While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages. It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).
Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6) and Kolkata (26.7). Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.
In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts (22.8). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4). Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Kids get a raw deal in budgets
Himanshi Dhawan
[ 25 Feb, 2007 2252hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: They form one-third of the population but their share in the Union budget is a mere 4.86%. Children under 18 years have become a blind spot for a nation rushing towards higher GDP growth. A quick glance of the social sector indices reveals that despite rapid growth in GDP and per capita income, children's health and education has not received the desired attention which reflects in the high levels of foeticide, malnutrition, illiteracy and child labour rampant across the country.
Significantly, while Central funding for children has increased marginally, the overall public expenditure remains stagnant because the states' share in these sectors has declined. About 80% of Indian children continue to be anaemic, 47% are malnourished, the infant mortality ratio has remained at 67 per 1,000 while it is 46 in Bangladesh, and the all-India child sex ratio is 927 girls for 1,000 boys which puts the country right at the bottom of the chart internationally, even below countries like Nigeria (965) and Pakistan (958).
If these statistics paint a grim picture it is because despite a GDP jump from 3.6% in 1951-1979 to 9% in 2006, proportionate spending on children has increased from a paltry 2.11% in 2001-2002 to 4.86%. According to reports compiled by the women and child development ministry, of the total spending on children a large bulk (70.14%) is spent on education, leaving very little for health, development and protection issues. In the 2006-2007 budget, child development got 17.72% share while health schemes got 11.43%. The budget allocation for child protection, recently brought into focus after the Nithari serial killings, is a paltry 0.70%.
An even more disturbing trend is the decline in states' share of spending on children in the past few years. A UNICEF study has reported that with a few exceptions, share in education has dropped from an aggregate 17.4% in 2001-2002 to 13.4% in 2005-2006.
Spending in Bihar came down from 23.7% in 2001-02 to 17.9% in 2005-06 while expenditure on education in Madhya Pradesh has halved from 16.3% to 8.7% in the same period. Healthcare has been given an even lower budget. Spending by states on an average has dropped from 4.4% in 2001-2002 to 3.8% in 2005-2006 with even progressive states like Delhi, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu reducing funds.
Clearly, it not the lack of resources. A study on the social sector undertaken by former Planning Commission member N C Saxena shows India with a per capita income of $2,670 has an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 67 while its human development index (HDI) is 0.595.
Vietnam, where the average per capita income is much lower at $2,300, has a lower IMR than India at 30 and HDI that is 0.691. Other developing countries too appear to have recognised the significance of public spending. Bangladesh spends 1.6% of its GDP on health and 2.5% on education while China spends 2% on health. Developed countries like US and Japan spend over 6% on health with Malaysia spending 6% on education.
On the eve of the Union budget, observers argue that there is a strong case for India to raise public spending and place social services on its priority areas before it is too late.
[ 25 Feb, 2007 2252hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: They form one-third of the population but their share in the Union budget is a mere 4.86%. Children under 18 years have become a blind spot for a nation rushing towards higher GDP growth. A quick glance of the social sector indices reveals that despite rapid growth in GDP and per capita income, children's health and education has not received the desired attention which reflects in the high levels of foeticide, malnutrition, illiteracy and child labour rampant across the country.
Significantly, while Central funding for children has increased marginally, the overall public expenditure remains stagnant because the states' share in these sectors has declined. About 80% of Indian children continue to be anaemic, 47% are malnourished, the infant mortality ratio has remained at 67 per 1,000 while it is 46 in Bangladesh, and the all-India child sex ratio is 927 girls for 1,000 boys which puts the country right at the bottom of the chart internationally, even below countries like Nigeria (965) and Pakistan (958).
If these statistics paint a grim picture it is because despite a GDP jump from 3.6% in 1951-1979 to 9% in 2006, proportionate spending on children has increased from a paltry 2.11% in 2001-2002 to 4.86%. According to reports compiled by the women and child development ministry, of the total spending on children a large bulk (70.14%) is spent on education, leaving very little for health, development and protection issues. In the 2006-2007 budget, child development got 17.72% share while health schemes got 11.43%. The budget allocation for child protection, recently brought into focus after the Nithari serial killings, is a paltry 0.70%.
An even more disturbing trend is the decline in states' share of spending on children in the past few years. A UNICEF study has reported that with a few exceptions, share in education has dropped from an aggregate 17.4% in 2001-2002 to 13.4% in 2005-2006.
Spending in Bihar came down from 23.7% in 2001-02 to 17.9% in 2005-06 while expenditure on education in Madhya Pradesh has halved from 16.3% to 8.7% in the same period. Healthcare has been given an even lower budget. Spending by states on an average has dropped from 4.4% in 2001-2002 to 3.8% in 2005-2006 with even progressive states like Delhi, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu reducing funds.
Clearly, it not the lack of resources. A study on the social sector undertaken by former Planning Commission member N C Saxena shows India with a per capita income of $2,670 has an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 67 while its human development index (HDI) is 0.595.
Vietnam, where the average per capita income is much lower at $2,300, has a lower IMR than India at 30 and HDI that is 0.691. Other developing countries too appear to have recognised the significance of public spending. Bangladesh spends 1.6% of its GDP on health and 2.5% on education while China spends 2% on health. Developed countries like US and Japan spend over 6% on health with Malaysia spending 6% on education.
On the eve of the Union budget, observers argue that there is a strong case for India to raise public spending and place social services on its priority areas before it is too late.
Madhya Pradesh May Not Achieve MDG Goals
By Loveleen
26 February, 2007Countercurrents.org
Madhya Pradesh is the state in heart of India and is laden with major social developmental challenges. If India needs to achieve the millennium development goals states which fall in category of states with human development challenges like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkand need to reach them first. All of them lag behind.
Interestingly Madhya Pradesh had made a major proclamation in October 2006 when 3.3 million people in the state stood up against poverty by participating in campaign initiated by UN millennium development campaign. It did made it to record books too. Now news is in air that State’s Chief Minister may be traveling to United Nations (UN)head quarters and get acknowledged and recognized for the same achievement.
Though I am not sure whether that is an achievement or not? In fact it is an irony that just weeks after the same event which made it to record books findings of National family health survey (NFHS III) data a survey undertaken by Government of India was shared. The data revealed that under nutrition in children between 0 – 3 years had increased from 54% to 60 %. This means that majority of children in Madhya Pradesh are malnourished. Though state denied data of its own Central Government and had quoted less figures which still meant that every second child in the state is malnourished. Though Non governmental organizations which are working in the state, agree with the findings of the NFHS III data. State’s own data base also reveals one another fact largely not talked about open that about 100,000 children are severely malnourished meaning can die if medical care is not provided to them.
Think of it if internationally in any country one knows that one lakh children need help, it becomes a major issue which can topple governments while here state is making to record books – for making proclamation just by standing, a question which has difficult answers. Recently an enquiry set up by Commissioners appointed by Supreme court of India had called state’s Sheopur district as world’s hot spots of malnourishment. State also has highest rate of infant mortality rates in the country and has six states in India which have highest maternal mortality ratio. It is not only in these indicators one happens to read in media about hunger deaths which get reported in the state. All these are part of millennium development goals. Even in case of poverty elimination for which the state made great announcements we are way behind and neither since that proclamation state has taken any concrete step which reflects actions. It also may be important to mention that state also heads in crime against children and new NFHS III data also reveal that 45 % of women in the state have ever heard of HIV/AIDS, which is also part of one the goals. In this scenario probably United Nations may need to pressurize state’s political heads to deliver against goals agreed by the country, or else it may take them another hundred years to reach the goals targeted for 2015, rather then acknowledging them.
Loveleen is a free lancer writer based in Bhopal and contributes by writing on social issues.
lg33@rediffmail.com
26 February, 2007Countercurrents.org
Madhya Pradesh is the state in heart of India and is laden with major social developmental challenges. If India needs to achieve the millennium development goals states which fall in category of states with human development challenges like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkand need to reach them first. All of them lag behind.
Interestingly Madhya Pradesh had made a major proclamation in October 2006 when 3.3 million people in the state stood up against poverty by participating in campaign initiated by UN millennium development campaign. It did made it to record books too. Now news is in air that State’s Chief Minister may be traveling to United Nations (UN)head quarters and get acknowledged and recognized for the same achievement.
Though I am not sure whether that is an achievement or not? In fact it is an irony that just weeks after the same event which made it to record books findings of National family health survey (NFHS III) data a survey undertaken by Government of India was shared. The data revealed that under nutrition in children between 0 – 3 years had increased from 54% to 60 %. This means that majority of children in Madhya Pradesh are malnourished. Though state denied data of its own Central Government and had quoted less figures which still meant that every second child in the state is malnourished. Though Non governmental organizations which are working in the state, agree with the findings of the NFHS III data. State’s own data base also reveals one another fact largely not talked about open that about 100,000 children are severely malnourished meaning can die if medical care is not provided to them.
Think of it if internationally in any country one knows that one lakh children need help, it becomes a major issue which can topple governments while here state is making to record books – for making proclamation just by standing, a question which has difficult answers. Recently an enquiry set up by Commissioners appointed by Supreme court of India had called state’s Sheopur district as world’s hot spots of malnourishment. State also has highest rate of infant mortality rates in the country and has six states in India which have highest maternal mortality ratio. It is not only in these indicators one happens to read in media about hunger deaths which get reported in the state. All these are part of millennium development goals. Even in case of poverty elimination for which the state made great announcements we are way behind and neither since that proclamation state has taken any concrete step which reflects actions. It also may be important to mention that state also heads in crime against children and new NFHS III data also reveal that 45 % of women in the state have ever heard of HIV/AIDS, which is also part of one the goals. In this scenario probably United Nations may need to pressurize state’s political heads to deliver against goals agreed by the country, or else it may take them another hundred years to reach the goals targeted for 2015, rather then acknowledging them.
Loveleen is a free lancer writer based in Bhopal and contributes by writing on social issues.
lg33@rediffmail.com
Monday, February 26, 2007
32 panchayats decide to boycott by-elections in Shivpuri due to water shortage and fluorosis
People living in thirty two panchayats of the karera block of the district Shivpuri have decided that they will not vote in the upcoming by elections in March. They will boycott the byelections. ‘All of them are same, nobody cares about us’ say villagers when one mentions about elected representatives. Villages in these panchayats face acute water crisis and people’s health is getting affected with fluorosis. It is not that they did not approach the elected representatives with their problems, they did, but with hardly any concrete result !. As by election approach for Gwalior parliamentary seat came in they decided this was better way to make their issue known and probably let the political leaders feel the pinch. The major issues which impacts them and which lead to the present situation is waters shortage, issue of ban of sale / resale of land, ban on boring water and fluorosis.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Salman Khan on a wall clock !
Dharda Ganesh is one of the fourteen hundred fifty nine villages of Shivpuri district in the state of Madhya Pradesh – the heart of India. It is about an hour's drive from the district headquarter but seems more when one has to encounter bumpy roads with road less stretches. The village looks like a typical village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, cluster of mud huts, roofed with thatch or earthen tiles, narrow paths laded with mud and water (if it rains) which leads to the outside world. Probably when one is there it feels that times had a little effect on the life style of people there. I happen to be there as part of my travel to the district. Thought it was for few hours but could not miss Kirori Mal’s shop - Kirori Mal the barber. His shop is just at the entrance of the village, outside the Panchayat Bhawan. It was a make shift of shop with few inches above the ground, one has to climb a height to enter the same.
Probably he seems to be a huge fan of Bollywood. The walls of his shop were lacquered with the photographs of all the major known actresses. May be it was an added attraction to his shop for the clients who come for a haircut or for shave and sometimes had to wait for their turn. He was self confessed fan of Salman Khan. But I was bit puzzled as I could not see Salman Khan on the walls so got bit inquisitive. I dared ask him where is Salman Khan ?. He looked in my eyes and then guided his finger towards his wall clock, which was hanging on the wall of shop. There was the Khan!! Captured in the wall clock! Actually he had made a cut out of the Salman Khan and had replaced it with second's needle of the wall clock. Instead of 'seconds' needle on the clock it was Salman Khan's photograph cut in shape of it. Quite an interesting way to use photographs which is supposedly his idol. So it was Salman Khan on the move that too every second!! Not only Bollywood actress but moving Salman Khan was an added attraction to his young clients of the village to visit his shop every now and then. Well it was moving khan on the clock…
- anil gulati
(This is a personal contribution, hence all views expressed in this piece are personal opinions of the writer)
Probably he seems to be a huge fan of Bollywood. The walls of his shop were lacquered with the photographs of all the major known actresses. May be it was an added attraction to his shop for the clients who come for a haircut or for shave and sometimes had to wait for their turn. He was self confessed fan of Salman Khan. But I was bit puzzled as I could not see Salman Khan on the walls so got bit inquisitive. I dared ask him where is Salman Khan ?. He looked in my eyes and then guided his finger towards his wall clock, which was hanging on the wall of shop. There was the Khan!! Captured in the wall clock! Actually he had made a cut out of the Salman Khan and had replaced it with second's needle of the wall clock. Instead of 'seconds' needle on the clock it was Salman Khan's photograph cut in shape of it. Quite an interesting way to use photographs which is supposedly his idol. So it was Salman Khan on the move that too every second!! Not only Bollywood actress but moving Salman Khan was an added attraction to his young clients of the village to visit his shop every now and then. Well it was moving khan on the clock…
- anil gulati
(This is a personal contribution, hence all views expressed in this piece are personal opinions of the writer)
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Seven new polio cases in India this year
The total polio cases in India last year i.e. in 2006 were six hundred seventy two. In this year the number of cases as of date are seven and the latest case has just came in from Badaun district of UttarPradesh which is second case from Uttar Pradesh. Bihar has had three cases and is leading the tally while Haryana and Maharashtra have reported one case each.
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Madhya Pradesh to get 12011 crores from centre in 2007-08
Annual Plan size for Madhya Pradesh for the year 2007-08 was approved today at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The Plan outlay was agreed at Rs.12011 crores which include onetime additional Central assistance of Rs.111 crores for projects of special assistance to the State.
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Ahluwalia said that the Commission was keen on improving efficiency of centrally sponsored schemes and would carry out a review of guidelines shortly. Observations of States would be useful in identifying problems and their correction. He said as directed by Prime Minister the Commission would shortly be calling a meeting of NDC to discuss agriculture. States should prepare plans to identify roles to be played by both Centre and States in bringing about necessary acceleration in this important sector.
On economic performance of the State, it was pointed out that indicators are moving in the right direction and efforts are on to take the State out of Bimaroo Status. Appreciable progress has been made in social sector specially education and health. Focused attention should continue to improve social sector indices further. Efforts in improving irrigation and women empowerment were appreciated. Further acceleration of efforts aimed at employment generation and poverty reduction were needed.
The Chief Minister said that State has improved fiscal management which is clearly reflected in plan expenditure showing upward trend. Balance from current revenue has been consistently improving for three years and after becoming revenue surplus State it expects doubling revenue surplus next year. He said special attention has been given to improving infrastructure. Impressive performance has been registered in creation of irrigation potential, electricity generation and road construction.
Infrastructure development through public private partnership has been a big success. Besides being the first State to avail viability gap funding, it has constructed nearly 1500 kms of road under PPP approach. Elementary education has been universalized and State's performance in NRHM and NREG has been appreciated.
The thrust of Eleventh Plan would be on development of infrastructure for irrigation, power and roads, empowerment of women, SCs, STs and poor. Appropriate policy intervention would be made to further improve health and education. Livelihood promotion and skill development would get priority with emphasis on agriculture & allied activities.
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Ahluwalia said that the Commission was keen on improving efficiency of centrally sponsored schemes and would carry out a review of guidelines shortly. Observations of States would be useful in identifying problems and their correction. He said as directed by Prime Minister the Commission would shortly be calling a meeting of NDC to discuss agriculture. States should prepare plans to identify roles to be played by both Centre and States in bringing about necessary acceleration in this important sector.
On economic performance of the State, it was pointed out that indicators are moving in the right direction and efforts are on to take the State out of Bimaroo Status. Appreciable progress has been made in social sector specially education and health. Focused attention should continue to improve social sector indices further. Efforts in improving irrigation and women empowerment were appreciated. Further acceleration of efforts aimed at employment generation and poverty reduction were needed.
The Chief Minister said that State has improved fiscal management which is clearly reflected in plan expenditure showing upward trend. Balance from current revenue has been consistently improving for three years and after becoming revenue surplus State it expects doubling revenue surplus next year. He said special attention has been given to improving infrastructure. Impressive performance has been registered in creation of irrigation potential, electricity generation and road construction.
Infrastructure development through public private partnership has been a big success. Besides being the first State to avail viability gap funding, it has constructed nearly 1500 kms of road under PPP approach. Elementary education has been universalized and State's performance in NRHM and NREG has been appreciated.
The thrust of Eleventh Plan would be on development of infrastructure for irrigation, power and roads, empowerment of women, SCs, STs and poor. Appropriate policy intervention would be made to further improve health and education. Livelihood promotion and skill development would get priority with emphasis on agriculture & allied activities.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
In Chambal's shadow, guns are currency of power
Bhind (Madhya Pradesh), Feb 18 (IANS) The Bhind region is home to the highest number of malnourished children and some of the most underweight and anaemic women in the country. Poverty might abound but when it comes to putting forth stacks of green notes in exchange for a gun, there's no thinking twice for the men.
"It's the question of our pride," says Pehalwan Singh of Hamirpura village, Bhind.From the first look of it, Bhind appears to be like any other Indian small town, messy and chaotic. But unlike most other towns, you see men carrying guns on their shoulders while cycling around and shops scattered all over the place selling pistols of all makes."My village has around 160 families and at least 90 possess a gun," says Singh. And what about the licence? "We have licence. At times a family might have a licence for one gun but may possess more than one," he smiles.Situated in the Chambal region in the north west of Madhya Pradesh, Bhind district is infamous for being a haven for bandits and robbers that was once home to the legendary bandit queen Phoolan Devi and other dreaded dacoits.As we make our way through the yawning chasms and gaping 'beehads' (ravines) which provide a good hiding place for the dacoits, it is not difficult to imagine their looming presence somewhere in the horizon."Oh yes, the dacoits are still there so we need guns for self-defence but they generally don't trouble the locals," says Sanjay Singh Badhoria, a villager. Not a very comfortable thought for a visitor though!Priced anywhere between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 45,000, what was amazing is that while they don't hesitate to shell this amount of money for buying a gun, poverty and inadequate medical aid is killing a number of people, especially mothers, in this area."If a person's gun gets stolen, he loses all respect in society.
They say that a man who cannot protect his gun is good for nothing," says Singh in the backdrop of Bhind's rising contribution to the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of Madhya Pradesh, which in turn contributes to 10 percent of the MMR in the country.As two men, with guns strapped to their backs, carry a wounded person in the district hospital of Bhind in perfect ease and not attracting any raised eyebrows except the visitor's, it's quite apparent what they mean when they say that they "carry their pride on their shoulders".According to the National Family Health Survey, Madhya Pradesh contributes 7,000 maternal mortality cases every year among the 70,000 of the country. The sex ratio of this area is 829 females to every 1,000 males.
--By Azera Rahman
"It's the question of our pride," says Pehalwan Singh of Hamirpura village, Bhind.From the first look of it, Bhind appears to be like any other Indian small town, messy and chaotic. But unlike most other towns, you see men carrying guns on their shoulders while cycling around and shops scattered all over the place selling pistols of all makes."My village has around 160 families and at least 90 possess a gun," says Singh. And what about the licence? "We have licence. At times a family might have a licence for one gun but may possess more than one," he smiles.Situated in the Chambal region in the north west of Madhya Pradesh, Bhind district is infamous for being a haven for bandits and robbers that was once home to the legendary bandit queen Phoolan Devi and other dreaded dacoits.As we make our way through the yawning chasms and gaping 'beehads' (ravines) which provide a good hiding place for the dacoits, it is not difficult to imagine their looming presence somewhere in the horizon."Oh yes, the dacoits are still there so we need guns for self-defence but they generally don't trouble the locals," says Sanjay Singh Badhoria, a villager. Not a very comfortable thought for a visitor though!Priced anywhere between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 45,000, what was amazing is that while they don't hesitate to shell this amount of money for buying a gun, poverty and inadequate medical aid is killing a number of people, especially mothers, in this area."If a person's gun gets stolen, he loses all respect in society.
They say that a man who cannot protect his gun is good for nothing," says Singh in the backdrop of Bhind's rising contribution to the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of Madhya Pradesh, which in turn contributes to 10 percent of the MMR in the country.As two men, with guns strapped to their backs, carry a wounded person in the district hospital of Bhind in perfect ease and not attracting any raised eyebrows except the visitor's, it's quite apparent what they mean when they say that they "carry their pride on their shoulders".According to the National Family Health Survey, Madhya Pradesh contributes 7,000 maternal mortality cases every year among the 70,000 of the country. The sex ratio of this area is 829 females to every 1,000 males.
--By Azera Rahman
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Bhopal artist to engrave Ramayana on wood
Bhopal, Feb 17 (ANI)
Om Prakash Kushwaha, 55, is just like any other artist. However, that's where all the similarity ends. This resident of Bhopal is attempting a unique feat of writing the Ramayana on wood.
He claims to be inspired by divine intervention to undertake this Herculean task.According to him, the 'book' will have a total of 1075 pages, out of which 21 pages have been completed so far. The pages or the sheets are made of high quality 'Saugan' wood and Kushwaha uses a special tool to engrave the words on the wooden sheets."It takes me five to seven days to complete one page. To make sure that no word gets broken and everything is readable, I buy good quality of wood (Saugan), as it can be preserved for 1,000 years," says Kushwaha.The wooden sheets are pressed to keep their thickness at 1/4 of an inch, and their length at 18 inches and width, 14 inches. Each page is capable of accommodating 13 sentences.According to Kushwaha, it would take a truckload of wood and an investment of approximately 20,00,000 rupees (45350 dollars) to complete the book.He sees the whole endeavour as a service to God and believes all requirements would be taken care of by the almighty himself."There is no motive behind all this (writing the wooden Ramayana). It is a service to God. I don't want to make money out of it. If somebody comes and asks to put it up for exhibition, I might do it but I don't want to do business out of it. We are poor people and are content with our lives, we don't want fame or money," says Kushwaha.The work is being conducted under the guidance of experts who check every page after it is completed.Kushwaha believes the manuscript will have a shelf life of at least 1000 years because of the good quality of the wood and the treatment being given to it.Originally written in 'Sanskrit' by saint Valmiki, Ramayana is one of the most sacred epics of the Hindus, the other being the Mahabharata. Compiled in verse, it dates back to approximately the fifth century BC. (ANI)
Om Prakash Kushwaha, 55, is just like any other artist. However, that's where all the similarity ends. This resident of Bhopal is attempting a unique feat of writing the Ramayana on wood.
He claims to be inspired by divine intervention to undertake this Herculean task.According to him, the 'book' will have a total of 1075 pages, out of which 21 pages have been completed so far. The pages or the sheets are made of high quality 'Saugan' wood and Kushwaha uses a special tool to engrave the words on the wooden sheets."It takes me five to seven days to complete one page. To make sure that no word gets broken and everything is readable, I buy good quality of wood (Saugan), as it can be preserved for 1,000 years," says Kushwaha.The wooden sheets are pressed to keep their thickness at 1/4 of an inch, and their length at 18 inches and width, 14 inches. Each page is capable of accommodating 13 sentences.According to Kushwaha, it would take a truckload of wood and an investment of approximately 20,00,000 rupees (45350 dollars) to complete the book.He sees the whole endeavour as a service to God and believes all requirements would be taken care of by the almighty himself."There is no motive behind all this (writing the wooden Ramayana). It is a service to God. I don't want to make money out of it. If somebody comes and asks to put it up for exhibition, I might do it but I don't want to do business out of it. We are poor people and are content with our lives, we don't want fame or money," says Kushwaha.The work is being conducted under the guidance of experts who check every page after it is completed.Kushwaha believes the manuscript will have a shelf life of at least 1000 years because of the good quality of the wood and the treatment being given to it.Originally written in 'Sanskrit' by saint Valmiki, Ramayana is one of the most sacred epics of the Hindus, the other being the Mahabharata. Compiled in verse, it dates back to approximately the fifth century BC. (ANI)
Bhopal artist to engrave Ramayana on wood
Bhopal, Feb 17 (ANI)
Om Prakash Kushwaha, 55, is just like any other artist. However, that's where all the similarity ends. This resident of Bhopal is attempting a unique feat of writing the Ramayana on wood.
He claims to be inspired by divine intervention to undertake this Herculean task.According to him, the 'book' will have a total of 1075 pages, out of which 21 pages have been completed so far. The pages or the sheets are made of high quality 'Saugan' wood and Kushwaha uses a special tool to engrave the words on the wooden sheets."It takes me five to seven days to complete one page. To make sure that no word gets broken and everything is readable, I buy good quality of wood (Saugan), as it can be preserved for 1,000 years," says Kushwaha.The wooden sheets are pressed to keep their thickness at 1/4 of an inch, and their length at 18 inches and width, 14 inches. Each page is capable of accommodating 13 sentences.According to Kushwaha, it would take a truckload of wood and an investment of approximately 20,00,000 rupees (45350 dollars) to complete the book.He sees the whole endeavour as a service to God and believes all requirements would be taken care of by the almighty himself."There is no motive behind all this (writing the wooden Ramayana). It is a service to God. I don't want to make money out of it. If somebody comes and asks to put it up for exhibition, I might do it but I don't want to do business out of it. We are poor people and are content with our lives, we don't want fame or money," says Kushwaha.The work is being conducted under the guidance of experts who check every page after it is completed.Kushwaha believes the manuscript will have a shelf life of at least 1000 years because of the good quality of the wood and the treatment being given to it.Originally written in 'Sanskrit' by saint Valmiki, Ramayana is one of the most sacred epics of the Hindus, the other being the Mahabharata. Compiled in verse, it dates back to approximately the fifth century BC. (ANI)
Om Prakash Kushwaha, 55, is just like any other artist. However, that's where all the similarity ends. This resident of Bhopal is attempting a unique feat of writing the Ramayana on wood.
He claims to be inspired by divine intervention to undertake this Herculean task.According to him, the 'book' will have a total of 1075 pages, out of which 21 pages have been completed so far. The pages or the sheets are made of high quality 'Saugan' wood and Kushwaha uses a special tool to engrave the words on the wooden sheets."It takes me five to seven days to complete one page. To make sure that no word gets broken and everything is readable, I buy good quality of wood (Saugan), as it can be preserved for 1,000 years," says Kushwaha.The wooden sheets are pressed to keep their thickness at 1/4 of an inch, and their length at 18 inches and width, 14 inches. Each page is capable of accommodating 13 sentences.According to Kushwaha, it would take a truckload of wood and an investment of approximately 20,00,000 rupees (45350 dollars) to complete the book.He sees the whole endeavour as a service to God and believes all requirements would be taken care of by the almighty himself."There is no motive behind all this (writing the wooden Ramayana). It is a service to God. I don't want to make money out of it. If somebody comes and asks to put it up for exhibition, I might do it but I don't want to do business out of it. We are poor people and are content with our lives, we don't want fame or money," says Kushwaha.The work is being conducted under the guidance of experts who check every page after it is completed.Kushwaha believes the manuscript will have a shelf life of at least 1000 years because of the good quality of the wood and the treatment being given to it.Originally written in 'Sanskrit' by saint Valmiki, Ramayana is one of the most sacred epics of the Hindus, the other being the Mahabharata. Compiled in verse, it dates back to approximately the fifth century BC. (ANI)
390 bone pieces, remains of children found in Ratlam
www.zeenews.com
Ratlam (MP), Feb 17: A total of 390 pieces of bones and skeletal remains of children were found in a pit at a hospital here on Saturday, police said. Following a tip-off, the bones were found in a pit behind the operation theatre of the Missionary Hospital, Superintendent of Police Satish Saxena said. "Though the bones seem to belong to new-born children or aborted foetuses, it is difficult to ascertain the age of the children as the skeletons are not intact," he said. The area was sealed off and samples were sent to the state forensic laboratory for tests, Saxena said.
Bureau Report
Ratlam (MP), Feb 17: A total of 390 pieces of bones and skeletal remains of children were found in a pit at a hospital here on Saturday, police said. Following a tip-off, the bones were found in a pit behind the operation theatre of the Missionary Hospital, Superintendent of Police Satish Saxena said. "Though the bones seem to belong to new-born children or aborted foetuses, it is difficult to ascertain the age of the children as the skeletons are not intact," he said. The area was sealed off and samples were sent to the state forensic laboratory for tests, Saxena said.
Bureau Report
Bones found in Ratlam
Just in….
Some 390 pieces of bones have been recovered in private hospital in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. The same have been recovered in the compound of the hospital supposedly near to the operation theatre of the hospital.
The chief of nursing home is not in the district while district administration has sealed the same.
Some 390 pieces of bones have been recovered in private hospital in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. The same have been recovered in the compound of the hospital supposedly near to the operation theatre of the hospital.
The chief of nursing home is not in the district while district administration has sealed the same.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Fewer class rooms in govt primary schools
NUEPA reports fewer classrooms in govt. primary schools
New Delhi -- The analytical report for Elementary Education in India 2005-06 by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) has revealed that the average number of classrooms in government primary schools in few states of the country has shown downward trend in recent years.
In states like Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, average number of classrooms in primary schools run by state governments has decreased considerably compared to last year. Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have least average number of classrooms among all states followed by Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh. Delhi has the highest difference of 4.3 in average number of classrooms between two consecutive report years 2004-05 and 2005-06. The NUEPA has also found that states like Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, despite having sound infrastructure facilities are lagging in terms of number of girls scoring 60% or more in class IV and V examinations.
Source -- Indiaedunews.net
New Delhi -- The analytical report for Elementary Education in India 2005-06 by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) has revealed that the average number of classrooms in government primary schools in few states of the country has shown downward trend in recent years.
In states like Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, average number of classrooms in primary schools run by state governments has decreased considerably compared to last year. Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have least average number of classrooms among all states followed by Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh. Delhi has the highest difference of 4.3 in average number of classrooms between two consecutive report years 2004-05 and 2005-06. The NUEPA has also found that states like Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, despite having sound infrastructure facilities are lagging in terms of number of girls scoring 60% or more in class IV and V examinations.
Source -- Indiaedunews.net
Dolphins dwindle in Chambal sanctuary
The dolphins in Chambal river have declined by almost one-third - from 98 to 69 - in the last three years and include only 40 adults, 21 adolescents and eight calves, said wildlife officials here. Though there is a National Chambal Sanctuary to protect the aqua life, little has been done to protect the dolphin from the ever-increasing pollution and rampant poaching mainly responsible for the declining numbers, the officials said. "Founded in 1979, the sanctuary covers the entire 435-km flow of the Chambal river through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is known for alligators, crocodiles, tortoises and rare Gangetic dolphins," said sanctuary authorities. The sanctuary is co-administered by the three states. The other inhabitants of the sanctuary include chinkara, sambar, nilgai, hyena, leopard, wolf and wild boar. Dolphins were first discovered in the Chambal during a 1985 census of alligators but the rare Gangetic dolphins are the sanctuary's main attraction. Known as the Ganges River Dolphins, they are blind but hunted for their meat, said forest department officials.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
MADHYA PRADESH GETS CENTRAL ASSISTANCE UNDER SGSY
The Ministry of Rural Development has released Rs.1.83 crore as 2nd instalment of the central share under the `Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana’ (SGSY) during the year 2006-07 to 3 DRDAs of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Bhopal, Mandsaur and Sagar. The amount should be utilized on the Programme as per approved guidelines of SGSY. The funding pattern will be 75:25 by the Centre and the State.
The State Govts/DRDAs/ZPs are also to ensure to submit the report of State and District Levels Vigilance & Monitoring Committee meeting held during current year by March 31, 2007, otherwise Ist instalment during the next year will be held up. The State Government should release its share within one month of the date of release of the Central assistance. Under SGSY, assistance is given to the poor family living below the poverty line for taking up self-employment. It actively promotes group approach by organising the rural poor into Self-Help Groups.
The State Govts/DRDAs/ZPs are also to ensure to submit the report of State and District Levels Vigilance & Monitoring Committee meeting held during current year by March 31, 2007, otherwise Ist instalment during the next year will be held up. The State Government should release its share within one month of the date of release of the Central assistance. Under SGSY, assistance is given to the poor family living below the poverty line for taking up self-employment. It actively promotes group approach by organising the rural poor into Self-Help Groups.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Is it polio day today ?
Today Feb 11, was Polio Sunday in Madhya Pradeshas in other parts of India. It was National Immunisation Day the last one was on January 7, 2007. To look at the real picture at ground, blog spoke to many of its stringers and here is the picture
Bhopal
Manisha market, Shahpura Bhopal used to have polio booth but for last two rounds, it was missing this time. Though Bhopal collector had ordered (not motivated as normally done by many NGOs earlier – District administration and motivation probably two different terms) children to participate. One could not see much publicity around polio day except a school rally and few posters undertaken by the district to motivate, though many children in it did not knew why they were in the rally ? A parent of three in old bhopal asked us – is it a polio day today ?
Though health minister of state of MP had sent a special sms and there were press adverts but no plan to reach unorganized sector. What about people who do not have mobile and cannot read or write ? What about places like Rahul Nagar in Bhopal where many did not knew about it.
Indore
Chandan nagar Indore again the motivation to take children was missing. The blog reporter met many children who were not vaccinated and asked their parents to take them to the polio booths. This slum area in Indore was in focus as it had missing children.
Bhind
In Bhind district one could only hear announcements around district hospitals but virtually nothing was there in interiors in name of IEC, neither anyone from health department told them about the polio round. How will people know, forget about they sending them to polio booths.
Gwalior
Similar case one could see in Gwalior rural areas, even in rural expcet few booths it was dsimal picture at many places.
There has been a shortfall in being abel to reach all, though state press release which would be released by today evening may not say the same.
Hope state’s health department could cover the same in house to house rounds which follow ? target was to reach crores of children but we have just reached lakhs…..
Blog news network
Bhopal
Manisha market, Shahpura Bhopal used to have polio booth but for last two rounds, it was missing this time. Though Bhopal collector had ordered (not motivated as normally done by many NGOs earlier – District administration and motivation probably two different terms) children to participate. One could not see much publicity around polio day except a school rally and few posters undertaken by the district to motivate, though many children in it did not knew why they were in the rally ? A parent of three in old bhopal asked us – is it a polio day today ?
Though health minister of state of MP had sent a special sms and there were press adverts but no plan to reach unorganized sector. What about people who do not have mobile and cannot read or write ? What about places like Rahul Nagar in Bhopal where many did not knew about it.
Indore
Chandan nagar Indore again the motivation to take children was missing. The blog reporter met many children who were not vaccinated and asked their parents to take them to the polio booths. This slum area in Indore was in focus as it had missing children.
Bhind
In Bhind district one could only hear announcements around district hospitals but virtually nothing was there in interiors in name of IEC, neither anyone from health department told them about the polio round. How will people know, forget about they sending them to polio booths.
Gwalior
Similar case one could see in Gwalior rural areas, even in rural expcet few booths it was dsimal picture at many places.
There has been a shortfall in being abel to reach all, though state press release which would be released by today evening may not say the same.
Hope state’s health department could cover the same in house to house rounds which follow ? target was to reach crores of children but we have just reached lakhs…..
Blog news network
Letter on scooty ad
A letter from US on Scooty ad...
I live in the US and I have regional channels in my house and hense i get a chance to see all the Indian advertisements and recently I saw this Scooty(TVS) ad and it goes like a girl taking care of her scooty and her sisters comes and says without the scooty taking the public bus and going in the crowd would have hindered their education and they would have got married in a small age and saw mega serials with their motherinlaw . But since their parents got them scooty they didnt lead that life and they made their parents proud.
Well we are Indian were majority of the women are still house wives and below poverty line were they cant even afford an scooty. Does that mean women who are house wives cant be proud of themselves or is it ethical to show faces at crowded busses. this add was one of the most offensive ads i saw in the recent days and none seem to have taken notice of this. t has been back of my mind for a while I really would be relieved if someone took any step for these kind of offensive ads.
Subashni Srinivas
Contact email - subashni.srinivas@gmail.com
I live in the US and I have regional channels in my house and hense i get a chance to see all the Indian advertisements and recently I saw this Scooty(TVS) ad and it goes like a girl taking care of her scooty and her sisters comes and says without the scooty taking the public bus and going in the crowd would have hindered their education and they would have got married in a small age and saw mega serials with their motherinlaw . But since their parents got them scooty they didnt lead that life and they made their parents proud.
Well we are Indian were majority of the women are still house wives and below poverty line were they cant even afford an scooty. Does that mean women who are house wives cant be proud of themselves or is it ethical to show faces at crowded busses. this add was one of the most offensive ads i saw in the recent days and none seem to have taken notice of this. t has been back of my mind for a while I really would be relieved if someone took any step for these kind of offensive ads.
Subashni Srinivas
Contact email - subashni.srinivas@gmail.com
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Girl child unspoken curse
Published in Times of India, Delhi Edition, Feb 10, 2007
SHIVPURI/NEW DELHI:
One-year-old Devki lies unattended on a string cot at her home in Sasaikhurd village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, while her twin brother Rahul gurgles in her grandmother's arms. He weighs 7.5 kg, and she 4.7 kg the normal weight of a child half her age. "We feed her but she just doesn't eat," says Gangabati, mother of the twins and a labourer. "My son was born far healthier. The girl has always been like this." But the village Anganwadi worker, Naresh Sharma, has a different take. "Because the girl was born weak, we advised the family to take greater care of Devki," he tells TOI. But what happened was just the opposite. The family consisting of farming-grandparents and labourer-parents took better care of the boy. When the district collector visited the village in November last year, he found the girl was severely undernourished and weighed less than 3.5 kg. Her brother was a healthy 6.5 kg. It was only after the collector threatened her family with legal action that the parents started feeding her properly. Devki's case is symptomatic of the malaise sweeping through northern Madhya Pradesh, where three districts show child sex ratios below 850 girls per 1,000 boys.
The situation has worsened since 2003, when ultra-sonography and sex-determination technology became accessible to the remotest parts of Chambal, one of the most backward areas in the country. Sasaikhurd today has 91 boys and 63 girls aged between 1-5 years. Neighbouring village Gandhinagar has 75 boys and 50 girls aged 5 years or less. With foeticide being added to the old practice of infanticide in the region, health workers find it hard to persuade parents to treat their daughter better. Devki weighed only 1.6 kg in March last year. The anganwadi workers and Unicef volunteers had taken her and Rahul, weighing 3 kg, to a nutrition rehabilitation centre. After 15 days of rehabilitation, the girl's weight rose to 1.9 kg while Rahul became 3.1 kg. One month after discharge, the nutrition rehabilitation centre followed up on the twins and found that while Rahul had grown to 3.3 kg, Devki's weight was constant at 1.9 kg. Werner Schultint, Unicef India's chief of child development and nutrition, who has been monitoring the twins, feels it is not entirely the lack of resources that is responsible for Devki's malnutrition.
It's systematic neglect as well. "The levels of malnutrition in India, at about 45%, are very disturbing. India ranks far below Ethiopia (35%) and sub-Saharan Africa (32%) in malnutrition indices," he says. An elderly villager of Sasaikhurd sums up the general attitude. "Daughters are 'paraya-dhan'. She will take away a fat booty when she gets married. But the son brings money, he helps in the fields. Who gives you fire when you die? The son does," he explains. These biases, coupled with the technology to kill female foetuses, has resulted in Shivpuri town's child sex ratio dropping alarmingly to 846 girls per 1,000 boys from 904 in 2001 a trend reported by TOI on February 6. In neighbouring Morena, there are 837 girls to every 1,000 boys and in Bhind, 832 girls. "The number of girls is falling everywhere," says Rama Garg, anganwadi worker at Gandhinagar village. "Families just want to have two sons and stop. Nobody wants a daughter." Shivpuri district collector Manohar Agnani says female infanticide is rampant in Morena and Bhind, which have the worst sex ratio in the state.
"I was posted in Morena in 2004. Female infants in these two districts are often brutally smothered the leg of a cot is put on the girl child's chest and pressure applied till the weight kills her. If the parents are a little kind, they put opium into her mouth and that's the end of the baby," says Agnani, who has authored the book, 'Missing Girls', an account of infanticide in Bundelkhand. "The situation has worsened after 2003, when sex determination became easy. Whenever I went to villages, I asked for the register and found that the number of girl children was much lower than boys. 'Why aren't the girls registered', I would ask. Anganwadi workers would say that they could register girls only if they are born," says Agnani, adding that they surveyed village after village and found that the rural folk knew of ultrasound and sonography. Nandram of Sasaikhurd has six daughters aged between 20 and 6 years. "I am fed up of having daughters," he says. "I know this place in Shivpuri town where doctors tell you if it is a boy or a girl. Couples from my village have been there and got two sons in a row.
It only takes Rs 1,500 for an abortion and Rs 350 for the X-ray (ultra sonography)." It is obvious that the Integrated Child Development Services that is expected to address issues of malnutrition, has not been implemented effectively. In fact, in a telling instance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to write a letter to state chief ministers pointing out inadequate coverage and quality of the ICDS scheme. Directions for regular monitoring and "political will" for implementation have been issued by the PMO. On ground zero, however, there remains little hope for children like Devki.
SHIVPURI/NEW DELHI:
One-year-old Devki lies unattended on a string cot at her home in Sasaikhurd village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, while her twin brother Rahul gurgles in her grandmother's arms. He weighs 7.5 kg, and she 4.7 kg the normal weight of a child half her age. "We feed her but she just doesn't eat," says Gangabati, mother of the twins and a labourer. "My son was born far healthier. The girl has always been like this." But the village Anganwadi worker, Naresh Sharma, has a different take. "Because the girl was born weak, we advised the family to take greater care of Devki," he tells TOI. But what happened was just the opposite. The family consisting of farming-grandparents and labourer-parents took better care of the boy. When the district collector visited the village in November last year, he found the girl was severely undernourished and weighed less than 3.5 kg. Her brother was a healthy 6.5 kg. It was only after the collector threatened her family with legal action that the parents started feeding her properly. Devki's case is symptomatic of the malaise sweeping through northern Madhya Pradesh, where three districts show child sex ratios below 850 girls per 1,000 boys.
The situation has worsened since 2003, when ultra-sonography and sex-determination technology became accessible to the remotest parts of Chambal, one of the most backward areas in the country. Sasaikhurd today has 91 boys and 63 girls aged between 1-5 years. Neighbouring village Gandhinagar has 75 boys and 50 girls aged 5 years or less. With foeticide being added to the old practice of infanticide in the region, health workers find it hard to persuade parents to treat their daughter better. Devki weighed only 1.6 kg in March last year. The anganwadi workers and Unicef volunteers had taken her and Rahul, weighing 3 kg, to a nutrition rehabilitation centre. After 15 days of rehabilitation, the girl's weight rose to 1.9 kg while Rahul became 3.1 kg. One month after discharge, the nutrition rehabilitation centre followed up on the twins and found that while Rahul had grown to 3.3 kg, Devki's weight was constant at 1.9 kg. Werner Schultint, Unicef India's chief of child development and nutrition, who has been monitoring the twins, feels it is not entirely the lack of resources that is responsible for Devki's malnutrition.
It's systematic neglect as well. "The levels of malnutrition in India, at about 45%, are very disturbing. India ranks far below Ethiopia (35%) and sub-Saharan Africa (32%) in malnutrition indices," he says. An elderly villager of Sasaikhurd sums up the general attitude. "Daughters are 'paraya-dhan'. She will take away a fat booty when she gets married. But the son brings money, he helps in the fields. Who gives you fire when you die? The son does," he explains. These biases, coupled with the technology to kill female foetuses, has resulted in Shivpuri town's child sex ratio dropping alarmingly to 846 girls per 1,000 boys from 904 in 2001 a trend reported by TOI on February 6. In neighbouring Morena, there are 837 girls to every 1,000 boys and in Bhind, 832 girls. "The number of girls is falling everywhere," says Rama Garg, anganwadi worker at Gandhinagar village. "Families just want to have two sons and stop. Nobody wants a daughter." Shivpuri district collector Manohar Agnani says female infanticide is rampant in Morena and Bhind, which have the worst sex ratio in the state.
"I was posted in Morena in 2004. Female infants in these two districts are often brutally smothered the leg of a cot is put on the girl child's chest and pressure applied till the weight kills her. If the parents are a little kind, they put opium into her mouth and that's the end of the baby," says Agnani, who has authored the book, 'Missing Girls', an account of infanticide in Bundelkhand. "The situation has worsened after 2003, when sex determination became easy. Whenever I went to villages, I asked for the register and found that the number of girl children was much lower than boys. 'Why aren't the girls registered', I would ask. Anganwadi workers would say that they could register girls only if they are born," says Agnani, adding that they surveyed village after village and found that the rural folk knew of ultrasound and sonography. Nandram of Sasaikhurd has six daughters aged between 20 and 6 years. "I am fed up of having daughters," he says. "I know this place in Shivpuri town where doctors tell you if it is a boy or a girl. Couples from my village have been there and got two sons in a row.
It only takes Rs 1,500 for an abortion and Rs 350 for the X-ray (ultra sonography)." It is obvious that the Integrated Child Development Services that is expected to address issues of malnutrition, has not been implemented effectively. In fact, in a telling instance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to write a letter to state chief ministers pointing out inadequate coverage and quality of the ICDS scheme. Directions for regular monitoring and "political will" for implementation have been issued by the PMO. On ground zero, however, there remains little hope for children like Devki.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Amit (MP’ prince) saved from 55 ft pit
06.45 hrs, Feb 5, 2007
Amit a four-year-old boy had fallen yesterday into a 55-feet deep pit in village Ganeshwar in the Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. He had got stuck at 22 feet and after about 12 hours of rescue operation district administration with support from people had been able to save him. He has been taken to hospital for check up. This is the fourth case of a child falling in a pit in the past two months and second in almost a month. On Dec 31, 2006, five-year-old Kallu was trapped in a 216-feet-deep pit dug for a tube well in Ujjain district and died after being taken out. On Dec 23, a child died similarly in Begumganj village in Raisen district.Four-year-old Prince of Haryana had attracted nationwide attention last year when he spent over 50 hours in a well he had fallen into before being rescued.
Blog news network
Amit a four-year-old boy had fallen yesterday into a 55-feet deep pit in village Ganeshwar in the Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. He had got stuck at 22 feet and after about 12 hours of rescue operation district administration with support from people had been able to save him. He has been taken to hospital for check up. This is the fourth case of a child falling in a pit in the past two months and second in almost a month. On Dec 31, 2006, five-year-old Kallu was trapped in a 216-feet-deep pit dug for a tube well in Ujjain district and died after being taken out. On Dec 23, a child died similarly in Begumganj village in Raisen district.Four-year-old Prince of Haryana had attracted nationwide attention last year when he spent over 50 hours in a well he had fallen into before being rescued.
Blog news network
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Chickenpox hits children in kuswan of Shivpuri district in MP
13 22 hrs, Feb 4, 2007
24 children out of about 80 odd children in the village Kuswan have fallen ill due to chickenpox. The village is in badarwas block which is in one of the eight blocks of the Shivpuri district of state of Madhya Pradesh. Initially people thought it was measles, with which lots of myths and superstitions are associated in the district. But the medical staff which visited the village after initial reluctance has told the people of the village and volunteers there that it is Chickenpox. Community members of village say that three children namely Neetu of twelve years, Rachna of thirteen years and Ranjana of seven years are seriously ill. ANM and health worker had visited the village, though any senior health level officials still have to visit the village.
Blog news network
24 children out of about 80 odd children in the village Kuswan have fallen ill due to chickenpox. The village is in badarwas block which is in one of the eight blocks of the Shivpuri district of state of Madhya Pradesh. Initially people thought it was measles, with which lots of myths and superstitions are associated in the district. But the medical staff which visited the village after initial reluctance has told the people of the village and volunteers there that it is Chickenpox. Community members of village say that three children namely Neetu of twelve years, Rachna of thirteen years and Ranjana of seven years are seriously ill. ANM and health worker had visited the village, though any senior health level officials still have to visit the village.
Blog news network
Rural job scheme numbers don`t add up
Sreelatha Menon & Prasad Nichenametla
New Delhi February 03, 2007
A year after the launch of the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Programme, two sets of figures that it throws up are arresting.
First, 33.4 million job cards have been issued in the 200 districts where the programme has been operational. Those districts have 54 million rural households.
The numbers say that 60 per cent of all rural households in these districts have registered for hard manual labour, in return for Rs 50 a day.
Since only 22 per cent (or 26 per cent, depending on the figure you choose) of all households are officially poor, a 60 per cent participation rate suggests either a level of deprivation in the countryside that no one has suspected exists, or a gigantic boondoggle under which fake muster rolls get filled up.
The second arresting figure is the number of mandays of work generated during the year: 446 million.
Assuming that this was evenly spread out among the 33.4 million who have registered under the programme, each job card holder got less than 14 days of work during the year.
But that calculation would have to be adjusted with the fact that all 33.4 million job cards were not issued on the first day of the programme. If they were issued in an even pattern through the year, the average job card holder would have got 14 days of work over six months— compared with the 100 days in a year promised under the programme.
The Rs 700 that would have been earned by each job card holder (and only one card is allowed per family) in the year would serve at best as supplementary income for an average family of five; it is not enough to bring poor people above the poverty line — one of the claims made on behalf of the programme.
At gram panchayat Baldevmal, part of the Junagarh block in Orissa's Kalahandi district, the scene is much worse than even what these national averages suggest.
In all, 350 job cards have been given out so far. Panchayat secretary Bhabograhi Meher's figure for mandays of work created is 450. That amounts to barely one day and a bit per job card holder in the entire year.
At Bandhpari panchayat of Lanjigarh block, in the very Kalahandi district, 33-year-old Nurpa Goud got seven days of work in June. This is all that is mentioned on his card.
He says he worked more days, but they have not been mentioned on the card. He is now waiting for more work, as the state government has recently increased the minimum wage under the programme.
There are also places like Ranmal gram panchayat in Kalahandi, where no cards have been given out so far. The state-wide total is 2.5 million cards and 45 million mandays of work — or an average of 18 days per card.
That is slightly better than the national figure of 14 days, and marginally better than Uttar Pradesh's total (54 million mandays for 3.2 million job card holders in 22 districts, making for 16 mandays per card), but nowhere near the target of 100 mandays per card.
If Nurpa Goud's account is true, more work is being done, but people are not being paid for it.
The vital statistical link showing mandays generated per job card is mostly missing in official records.
When mentioned, it often does not reflect the truth, says Manoj Rai of Participatory Research in Asia (Pria), a resource and advocacy group on grassroots development. The states do have data on the number of mandays, but they do not post it on their websites, says Rai.
In response to questions, central ministry officials in New Delhi say they are planning to revamp the information system.
RURAL REPORT CARD
Funds released: Rs 6,714.2 crore
Total 'works' taken up: 5.23 lakh
Districts: 200
Total rural households: 54 million
New Delhi February 03, 2007
A year after the launch of the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Programme, two sets of figures that it throws up are arresting.
First, 33.4 million job cards have been issued in the 200 districts where the programme has been operational. Those districts have 54 million rural households.
The numbers say that 60 per cent of all rural households in these districts have registered for hard manual labour, in return for Rs 50 a day.
Since only 22 per cent (or 26 per cent, depending on the figure you choose) of all households are officially poor, a 60 per cent participation rate suggests either a level of deprivation in the countryside that no one has suspected exists, or a gigantic boondoggle under which fake muster rolls get filled up.
The second arresting figure is the number of mandays of work generated during the year: 446 million.
Assuming that this was evenly spread out among the 33.4 million who have registered under the programme, each job card holder got less than 14 days of work during the year.
But that calculation would have to be adjusted with the fact that all 33.4 million job cards were not issued on the first day of the programme. If they were issued in an even pattern through the year, the average job card holder would have got 14 days of work over six months— compared with the 100 days in a year promised under the programme.
The Rs 700 that would have been earned by each job card holder (and only one card is allowed per family) in the year would serve at best as supplementary income for an average family of five; it is not enough to bring poor people above the poverty line — one of the claims made on behalf of the programme.
At gram panchayat Baldevmal, part of the Junagarh block in Orissa's Kalahandi district, the scene is much worse than even what these national averages suggest.
In all, 350 job cards have been given out so far. Panchayat secretary Bhabograhi Meher's figure for mandays of work created is 450. That amounts to barely one day and a bit per job card holder in the entire year.
At Bandhpari panchayat of Lanjigarh block, in the very Kalahandi district, 33-year-old Nurpa Goud got seven days of work in June. This is all that is mentioned on his card.
He says he worked more days, but they have not been mentioned on the card. He is now waiting for more work, as the state government has recently increased the minimum wage under the programme.
There are also places like Ranmal gram panchayat in Kalahandi, where no cards have been given out so far. The state-wide total is 2.5 million cards and 45 million mandays of work — or an average of 18 days per card.
That is slightly better than the national figure of 14 days, and marginally better than Uttar Pradesh's total (54 million mandays for 3.2 million job card holders in 22 districts, making for 16 mandays per card), but nowhere near the target of 100 mandays per card.
If Nurpa Goud's account is true, more work is being done, but people are not being paid for it.
The vital statistical link showing mandays generated per job card is mostly missing in official records.
When mentioned, it often does not reflect the truth, says Manoj Rai of Participatory Research in Asia (Pria), a resource and advocacy group on grassroots development. The states do have data on the number of mandays, but they do not post it on their websites, says Rai.
In response to questions, central ministry officials in New Delhi say they are planning to revamp the information system.
RURAL REPORT CARD
Funds released: Rs 6,714.2 crore
Total 'works' taken up: 5.23 lakh
Districts: 200
Total rural households: 54 million
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Shivpuri: Nutrition centre makes difference
NDTV.com
Rubina Khan Shapoo, Friday, February 2, 2007 (Shivpuri) :
In Madhya Pradesh malnutrition has gone up instead of down in the last decade.The government launched the Bal Shakti Yojna in October 2005 where special rehabilitation centres were created for extremely malnourished children. For the first time, the ICDS team and the health department began working in tandem.
NDTV team traveled to Shivpuri, one of the districts where they are aggressively implementing the scheme to see what difference has it really made.Medical treatment Three-year-old Dharmender weighs twelve and a half kg. It's a miracle considering he was severely malnourished, weighing barely six kg just six months ago.Parvati credits her son's recovery to the nutrition rehabilitation center in Shivpuri, where he received intensive medical treatment and nutritious food. She says she learnt how to take care of him.
Shivpuri and Guna districts in Madhya Pradesh are the only districts in Madhay Pradesh to have nutritional rehabilitation center.So far eight nutritional rehabilitation centres for severely malnourished children have been set up in Shvpuri.Children are kept for fifteen days, a month or longer depending on the severity of malnourishment. Like one-year-old Radha, who can barely move and weighs only three kg. The children begin their day with a piece of papaya. Dalia is given at ten and hot yummy vegetable khichdhi with ghee and sugar is served for lunch, followed by an afternoon siesta.Poverty factor Many attribute the success of the centres to the personal interest taken by the Collector of Shivpuri, who is a trained doctor."Out of 1500 children treated so far in these NRC's we could do the follow up of eleven hundred and eleven and the figure shows that almost seventy four per cent of them had weight increase and almost fifty percent of had grade improvement," said Manohar Agnani, Collector, Shivpuri
.But the programme's biggest challenge lies in the fact that many among the target group are unable to replicate the care at home. The parents live below the poverty line and typically both work as daily wage labourers. "I am a labourer. Here you are feeding me and teaching me how to do it. But I will only be able to follow all this if I have something in my house. How will I make all this there?" said Pushpa Jatav, mother of twins.However, one thing is clear though NRCs can help prevent malnutrition related deaths, to tackle malnutrition related deaths well run aaganwadhis with proper facilities for all the children is the only answer.
Rubina Khan Shapoo, Friday, February 2, 2007 (Shivpuri) :
In Madhya Pradesh malnutrition has gone up instead of down in the last decade.The government launched the Bal Shakti Yojna in October 2005 where special rehabilitation centres were created for extremely malnourished children. For the first time, the ICDS team and the health department began working in tandem.
NDTV team traveled to Shivpuri, one of the districts where they are aggressively implementing the scheme to see what difference has it really made.Medical treatment Three-year-old Dharmender weighs twelve and a half kg. It's a miracle considering he was severely malnourished, weighing barely six kg just six months ago.Parvati credits her son's recovery to the nutrition rehabilitation center in Shivpuri, where he received intensive medical treatment and nutritious food. She says she learnt how to take care of him.
Shivpuri and Guna districts in Madhya Pradesh are the only districts in Madhay Pradesh to have nutritional rehabilitation center.So far eight nutritional rehabilitation centres for severely malnourished children have been set up in Shvpuri.Children are kept for fifteen days, a month or longer depending on the severity of malnourishment. Like one-year-old Radha, who can barely move and weighs only three kg. The children begin their day with a piece of papaya. Dalia is given at ten and hot yummy vegetable khichdhi with ghee and sugar is served for lunch, followed by an afternoon siesta.Poverty factor Many attribute the success of the centres to the personal interest taken by the Collector of Shivpuri, who is a trained doctor."Out of 1500 children treated so far in these NRC's we could do the follow up of eleven hundred and eleven and the figure shows that almost seventy four per cent of them had weight increase and almost fifty percent of had grade improvement," said Manohar Agnani, Collector, Shivpuri
.But the programme's biggest challenge lies in the fact that many among the target group are unable to replicate the care at home. The parents live below the poverty line and typically both work as daily wage labourers. "I am a labourer. Here you are feeding me and teaching me how to do it. But I will only be able to follow all this if I have something in my house. How will I make all this there?" said Pushpa Jatav, mother of twins.However, one thing is clear though NRCs can help prevent malnutrition related deaths, to tackle malnutrition related deaths well run aaganwadhis with proper facilities for all the children is the only answer.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
IANS reports on our blog
Blogs help raise social issues in Madhya Pradesh
by Sanjay Sharma,
Indo-Asian news service
Bhopal, Feb 1 (IANS) Blogs are fast catching on in Madhya Pradesh where it provides a platform to activists and officials to voice concern on social issues like safe motherhood and children's plight. Among the blogs - a user-generated website as is commonly known - is www.safemotherhood.blogspot.com. Managed by 'Campaign to Raise Concern on Maternal Deaths' in the state, it has activists working to help mothers. There are other blogs too like newswhichmatter.blogspot.com, which has news about the state and opinions of people, and mpchildinfo.blogspot.com, which deals with infant mortality and low nutrition levels among children.Another blog is madhyapradesh.blogspot.com, which provides news and views on matters concerning the state.The safemotherhood.blogspot.com brings together media reports on maternal mortality in the state.Maternal mortality at 498 per every 1,000 women is one of state's biggest blights. Most of the deaths occur due to pregnancy-related complications within a fortnight of delivery.'To raise concern about and bring visibility to the issue of maternal deaths and factors impacting it, the safe motherhood blog helps to bring out issues at the district level that rarely find a place in the state level media,' said Anil Gulati, a blogger.
The blog, he said, translates the Hindi news into English or adapts it from Hindi and reproduces it on its weblog along with its source.Many a time these news stories from district editions can form a story for the state editions or alternatively can be a pitch for the big story, which also adds to the purpose of the blog, he said.Blogs also help to give expression to one's creative challenge, added Gulati, who has come to be regarded as blogman of Bhopal. He is a regular contributor to some of the blogs.'Some blogs have been able to raise concern on issues like maternal and child deaths in Madhya Pradesh,' said Sachin Jain, who heads a media advocacy group, Vikas Samvad, in Bhopal.For him it is a good advocacy tool. 'Blogs also take up issues which would have remained invisible otherwise. They help to bring the plight of people of the 'other India' into focus,' he claimed.Blogs and citizen journalists are part of newer trends in engaging people and making their voices heard. But do they make any difference?
'They may not be too effective today but they have the potential to complement other forms of journalism one day,' said P.P. Singh of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism.'These new technology tools can play a major role in reaching out to people with more transparency as they are not bound by present day media constraints, and thus serve the purpose more effectively,' he added.Other blogs that have become popular in a short time are bhopal.blogspot.com and bhopal.wordpress.com. There is also a Persecution Blog, which shares news and information about the Christian community.
Indo-Asian News Service
by Sanjay Sharma,
Indo-Asian news service
Bhopal, Feb 1 (IANS) Blogs are fast catching on in Madhya Pradesh where it provides a platform to activists and officials to voice concern on social issues like safe motherhood and children's plight. Among the blogs - a user-generated website as is commonly known - is www.safemotherhood.blogspot.com. Managed by 'Campaign to Raise Concern on Maternal Deaths' in the state, it has activists working to help mothers. There are other blogs too like newswhichmatter.blogspot.com, which has news about the state and opinions of people, and mpchildinfo.blogspot.com, which deals with infant mortality and low nutrition levels among children.Another blog is madhyapradesh.blogspot.com, which provides news and views on matters concerning the state.The safemotherhood.blogspot.com brings together media reports on maternal mortality in the state.Maternal mortality at 498 per every 1,000 women is one of state's biggest blights. Most of the deaths occur due to pregnancy-related complications within a fortnight of delivery.'To raise concern about and bring visibility to the issue of maternal deaths and factors impacting it, the safe motherhood blog helps to bring out issues at the district level that rarely find a place in the state level media,' said Anil Gulati, a blogger.
The blog, he said, translates the Hindi news into English or adapts it from Hindi and reproduces it on its weblog along with its source.Many a time these news stories from district editions can form a story for the state editions or alternatively can be a pitch for the big story, which also adds to the purpose of the blog, he said.Blogs also help to give expression to one's creative challenge, added Gulati, who has come to be regarded as blogman of Bhopal. He is a regular contributor to some of the blogs.'Some blogs have been able to raise concern on issues like maternal and child deaths in Madhya Pradesh,' said Sachin Jain, who heads a media advocacy group, Vikas Samvad, in Bhopal.For him it is a good advocacy tool. 'Blogs also take up issues which would have remained invisible otherwise. They help to bring the plight of people of the 'other India' into focus,' he claimed.Blogs and citizen journalists are part of newer trends in engaging people and making their voices heard. But do they make any difference?
'They may not be too effective today but they have the potential to complement other forms of journalism one day,' said P.P. Singh of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism.'These new technology tools can play a major role in reaching out to people with more transparency as they are not bound by present day media constraints, and thus serve the purpose more effectively,' he added.Other blogs that have become popular in a short time are bhopal.blogspot.com and bhopal.wordpress.com. There is also a Persecution Blog, which shares news and information about the Christian community.
Indo-Asian News Service
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Trafficking in children from State rampant
Ramya Kannan
221 children trafficked in a year
CHENNAI: Trafficking in children from Tamil Nadu is regular. They are taken primarily to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh and made to work in trying circumstances.
The children work in sweet stalls, bakeries and prawn and the fish processing industry, as help in hotels and labourers in homes, according to a 2006 study, conducted among children rescued at various exits (primarily different railway stations). The children are also involved in bangle and carpet making units, employed in rubber estates and tapioca farms in various parts of the country.
Executed by two NGOs Saaral-CSHD and Nessakkaram SEEDS, which work among children to prevent abuse, the study observed that a total of 221 children were taken for labour between February and December 2006 and 167 had run away from home to cities, mainly Chennai and Mumbai.
During interactions with the children, it was clear that they had no clue where they are going to be taken for employment. There were also cases where girls forced into labour have run away from their work place due to exacting conditions and landed up at railway stations, hoping to travel home `ticket less.'
The study revealed that trafficking in children took place from 16 districts, with Villupuram, Vellore, Salem, Dharmapuri, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga contributing the maximum numbers. There were a number of parents from Kalidaikurichi in Villupuram district who complained to the study team about children who went missing after agents paid paltry sums and took them away on the pretext of finding them work.
Three villages in Madurai had sent over 10 per cent of their boys out of home to work and in one village, Pudhur, 15 per cent of the boys and 5 per cent of girls were outside home, sold to a broker. The parents attributed their decision to extreme poverty, lack of rain, inadequate water resources and the lack of cultivable land. With jobs dwindling, there is no income available locally and families send children out to earn for them. The children are in the age group 12-18 years.
"We believe that the study has revealed only the tip of the iceberg. The real intensity and magnitude of the problem is likely to be disastrous," days George Heston, director, Saaral -CSHD
221 children trafficked in a year
CHENNAI: Trafficking in children from Tamil Nadu is regular. They are taken primarily to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh and made to work in trying circumstances.
The children work in sweet stalls, bakeries and prawn and the fish processing industry, as help in hotels and labourers in homes, according to a 2006 study, conducted among children rescued at various exits (primarily different railway stations). The children are also involved in bangle and carpet making units, employed in rubber estates and tapioca farms in various parts of the country.
Executed by two NGOs Saaral-CSHD and Nessakkaram SEEDS, which work among children to prevent abuse, the study observed that a total of 221 children were taken for labour between February and December 2006 and 167 had run away from home to cities, mainly Chennai and Mumbai.
During interactions with the children, it was clear that they had no clue where they are going to be taken for employment. There were also cases where girls forced into labour have run away from their work place due to exacting conditions and landed up at railway stations, hoping to travel home `ticket less.'
The study revealed that trafficking in children took place from 16 districts, with Villupuram, Vellore, Salem, Dharmapuri, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga contributing the maximum numbers. There were a number of parents from Kalidaikurichi in Villupuram district who complained to the study team about children who went missing after agents paid paltry sums and took them away on the pretext of finding them work.
Three villages in Madurai had sent over 10 per cent of their boys out of home to work and in one village, Pudhur, 15 per cent of the boys and 5 per cent of girls were outside home, sold to a broker. The parents attributed their decision to extreme poverty, lack of rain, inadequate water resources and the lack of cultivable land. With jobs dwindling, there is no income available locally and families send children out to earn for them. The children are in the age group 12-18 years.
"We believe that the study has revealed only the tip of the iceberg. The real intensity and magnitude of the problem is likely to be disastrous," days George Heston, director, Saaral -CSHD
Monday, January 29, 2007
One school, two hand pumps, but children still thirsty
Primary school, Village Goharan, is five kilometers from the Vijaypur development block headquarters, District Sheopur. It is one of the lucky ones as it has two hand pumps just outside the school premises, but children still have to bring water bottles from homes when they come to study at the school. The two handpumps are lying in broken condition and not in use for sometime now. Teachesr at the school have raised the issue with public health engineering department for many times, the hand pumps lie unrepaired.
Blog news
Blog news
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Madhya Pradesh School promoting Gandhian culture since 1892
By Abdul Samad
Harda (Madhya Pradesh), Jan.28 (ANI): An over a century old school in Madhya Pradesh's Harda District is being run in a style that could give joy to the followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.Be it students or teachers, all wear a Gandhi cap and Khadi dress. The tradition has been kept alive since 1892. The school has followed Gandhi's ideals since its inception.
"The students as well as the teachers coming here do wear the cap and this is not a compulsion but is tradition that has been followed since 114 years," said Ghulam Nabi, one of the teachers. "Gandhiji had asked fellow countrymen to wear this cap and on our part, we follow suit, irrespective of which class we are studying in," said Anand Singh Rajput, a student.
There are 500 students in the school and majority of them come from poor background. This proves a major impediment in the basic maintenance of the school.But the school is in a pathetic state because of many essential things getting no attention from anyone due to lack of funds.
The school authorities want the State Government to help in renovation of the school building, which has withstood vagaries of all seasons for the past 114 years. Today, it is in dire need of repairs. Besides it requires an arrangement for the residence of schoolteachers.
"We have certain demands, we want quarters for the teachers and reconstruction of the entire building as it is getting old day-by-day. It urgently needs renovation so that it can last for many more years, says the Moti Singh Suchar, the school Principal. (ANI)
Harda (Madhya Pradesh), Jan.28 (ANI): An over a century old school in Madhya Pradesh's Harda District is being run in a style that could give joy to the followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.Be it students or teachers, all wear a Gandhi cap and Khadi dress. The tradition has been kept alive since 1892. The school has followed Gandhi's ideals since its inception.
"The students as well as the teachers coming here do wear the cap and this is not a compulsion but is tradition that has been followed since 114 years," said Ghulam Nabi, one of the teachers. "Gandhiji had asked fellow countrymen to wear this cap and on our part, we follow suit, irrespective of which class we are studying in," said Anand Singh Rajput, a student.
There are 500 students in the school and majority of them come from poor background. This proves a major impediment in the basic maintenance of the school.But the school is in a pathetic state because of many essential things getting no attention from anyone due to lack of funds.
The school authorities want the State Government to help in renovation of the school building, which has withstood vagaries of all seasons for the past 114 years. Today, it is in dire need of repairs. Besides it requires an arrangement for the residence of schoolteachers.
"We have certain demands, we want quarters for the teachers and reconstruction of the entire building as it is getting old day-by-day. It urgently needs renovation so that it can last for many more years, says the Moti Singh Suchar, the school Principal. (ANI)
A school that abides by Gandhigiri
Bhopal, Jan 28 (IANS) Imagine a school where teachers mark themselves absent voluntarily if they get late and the headmaster notes down his own time of arrival!
The Bawadia Kalan Middle School on the outskirts of the Madhya Pradesh capital has become quite popular with students and parents with a bit of "Gandhigiri" - a term that has come to signify winning over people with persuasion and honesty.
"I have not seen the much talked about Munnabhai's Gandhigiri but what I feel is that Gandhigiri is nothing but 'living for others by honesty' and that is what we have adopted in this school," said A.N. Pathak, the headmaster. No official or local politician has ever visited the school in Bawadia Kalan village. But that has hardly been a hindrance to its smooth-functioning. The school, which has classes up to the middle level, has 454 students, 11 teachers and one head master.
"Almost all amenities like drinking water, toilets (specially for girls), lights, fans and a speaker in each classroom have been arranged with public cooperation thanks to the teachers who have become friendly with the villagers," said Pathak.
"Villagers in most places avoid sending their children to school either due to lack of facilities or because the child is not interested or both, but in our village it is not so," says Matadin who runs a grocery shop in the village. "Teachers take so much personal interest in educating the child that neither the parents nor the child thinks of missing school."
"In case a child misses classes for more than two days, a teacher personally comes to us to inquire about him and persuade us to send him for studies regularly. They care not only for the studies of children but also for their entertainment and try to ensure that students get a homely environment in school as well," he said.His three children, including two daughters, go to school regularly.
Unlike most government schools, teachers here mark themselves absent voluntarily if they come late for three days in a row. All teachers as well as the headmaster not only sign the attendance register but also put their time of arrival on it."We treat all students as family members and give them a family-like atmosphere, so that they do not think of being absent from class," said Arvind Tiwari, teacher.
--By Sanjay Sharma
The Bawadia Kalan Middle School on the outskirts of the Madhya Pradesh capital has become quite popular with students and parents with a bit of "Gandhigiri" - a term that has come to signify winning over people with persuasion and honesty.
"I have not seen the much talked about Munnabhai's Gandhigiri but what I feel is that Gandhigiri is nothing but 'living for others by honesty' and that is what we have adopted in this school," said A.N. Pathak, the headmaster. No official or local politician has ever visited the school in Bawadia Kalan village. But that has hardly been a hindrance to its smooth-functioning. The school, which has classes up to the middle level, has 454 students, 11 teachers and one head master.
"Almost all amenities like drinking water, toilets (specially for girls), lights, fans and a speaker in each classroom have been arranged with public cooperation thanks to the teachers who have become friendly with the villagers," said Pathak.
"Villagers in most places avoid sending their children to school either due to lack of facilities or because the child is not interested or both, but in our village it is not so," says Matadin who runs a grocery shop in the village. "Teachers take so much personal interest in educating the child that neither the parents nor the child thinks of missing school."
"In case a child misses classes for more than two days, a teacher personally comes to us to inquire about him and persuade us to send him for studies regularly. They care not only for the studies of children but also for their entertainment and try to ensure that students get a homely environment in school as well," he said.His three children, including two daughters, go to school regularly.
Unlike most government schools, teachers here mark themselves absent voluntarily if they come late for three days in a row. All teachers as well as the headmaster not only sign the attendance register but also put their time of arrival on it."We treat all students as family members and give them a family-like atmosphere, so that they do not think of being absent from class," said Arvind Tiwari, teacher.
--By Sanjay Sharma
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Commission to review maladies of public distribution system
Supreme Court of India has constituted a committee/ commission to investigate and study the Public Distribution System in India. As per Sachin Jain of Vikas Samvad , a media advocacy group this is the time when we can put our feelings and experiences in the commission, and an opportunity to express. Under the orders of the Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (C) No.196 of 2001, the Government of India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has constituted a Central Vigilance Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice D.P. Wadhwa, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, to look into the maladies which are affecting the proper functioning of the Public Distribution System and also suggest remedial measures.
The Committee has invited views and suggestions on the problems affecting the Public Distribution System - whether it is Fair Price Shops, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation, Food Corporation of India, Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Government of India or any other authority/body concerned with Public Distribution System. One can write at e mail at cvcpds.fpd@nic.in or Fax at 011- 26494067 or write to office of the Committee at 716, Mahabir Block, Asiad Village Complex (Khel Gaon), Siri Fort Road, New Delhi-110016 on or before 20th February, 2007.
Blog news
The Committee has invited views and suggestions on the problems affecting the Public Distribution System - whether it is Fair Price Shops, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation, Food Corporation of India, Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Government of India or any other authority/body concerned with Public Distribution System. One can write at e mail at cvcpds.fpd@nic.in or Fax at 011- 26494067 or write to office of the Committee at 716, Mahabir Block, Asiad Village Complex (Khel Gaon), Siri Fort Road, New Delhi-110016 on or before 20th February, 2007.
Blog news
Friday, January 26, 2007
Action in textbooks sale case
Betul, MP, Jan 22 (UNI) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Director
Surjeet Singh Chouhan, who is Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's brother, has said
that action would be initiated against the District Project Coordinator in a case relating to seizing of textbooks -- that were supposed to have been distributed free of cost under the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission -- from a scrap-dealers' godown.
''The Chief Minister has taken a very serious view
of the matter, formed different investigation teams
and sought a report. A statewide probe is underway. On
November 13, 2006, a similar case surfaced in
Shajapur,'' Mr Chouhan told UNI over telephone. He
probed the matter in various areas of the district
yesterday. Mr Chouhan is to submit his report today to the Chief Minister, School Education Minister and the
Principal Secretary.''Three teachers, who were found prima facie guilty,have been suspended. The scrap-dealer and two teachers have been jailed,'' he added.
Surjeet Singh Chouhan, who is Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's brother, has said
that action would be initiated against the District Project Coordinator in a case relating to seizing of textbooks -- that were supposed to have been distributed free of cost under the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission -- from a scrap-dealers' godown.
''The Chief Minister has taken a very serious view
of the matter, formed different investigation teams
and sought a report. A statewide probe is underway. On
November 13, 2006, a similar case surfaced in
Shajapur,'' Mr Chouhan told UNI over telephone. He
probed the matter in various areas of the district
yesterday. Mr Chouhan is to submit his report today to the Chief Minister, School Education Minister and the
Principal Secretary.''Three teachers, who were found prima facie guilty,have been suspended. The scrap-dealer and two teachers have been jailed,'' he added.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
India’s water portal
A web-based initiative by a NGO could be a useful public and media resource on national water data and management practices.
Anil Gulati
The Government of India has designated the year 2007 as the "Water Year". Several districts of the country face challenges regarding the availability and quality of water and its accessibility; consequently, this formal theme should help draw immediate attention to the issue of judicious water management and its inherent link to sanitation.
An impetus to this theme was provided when the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, launched a "water portal" on January 12, 2007.
Called India’s Water Portal, this web-based initiative is expected to be a one-stop knowledge resource on water in the country. Developed by the Arghyam Trust, a non-governmental organization, the portal places important information in the public domain and offers a platform for debates, discussion, idea-sharing and case studies to help create a national knowledge base.
India’s Water Portal clearly lays its focus on water with its theme "safe, sustainable and for all". According to the portal’s articulated principles, it intends to be an open, inclusive, web-based platform for sharing water management knowledge amongst practitioners and the general public. It aims to draw on the rich experience of experts from the water sector, package their knowledge, add value to it through technology, and then disseminate it to a larger audience through the Internet. The portal intends to pursue alternative outreach methods like the print media, radio and workshops, to ensure that this knowledge reaches those who need it the most. The ultimate objective of the portal is to address equity and sustainability issues in the water sector.
In his inaugural address during the launch of the portal (refer to the Press Information Bureau release), Dr. Manmohan Singh said that "[it] can help create repositories of knowledge. Their utility will increase as Internet penetration grows."
In this portal, information is available both in Hindi and English, adding value to its reach within India. Although some information still needs to be translated, it is a good beginning. The home page displays a good photograph that could be enhanced by photograph credits and a caption.
The portal features sections like Organization, Tools and Techniques, Data and Resources, Networks and Projects that can be updated. Interestingly, meteorological data on various indicators from year 1901 to 2002 for any part of India is available, which should be useful for water resource planning and research. Links provide details on a various topics: for instance, in the section on Tools and Techniques, details are available on rainwater harvesting, agriculture, drinking water management, water body restoration, urban water management, ground water management, watershed development, sanitation, waste water management and water quality. Other highlights include lists of courses, movies, slideshows and case studies, research and policies related to specific areas of knowledge. The lists of recommended reading and links that are provided in some sections make the site web-friendly and a one-stop resource for information on water.
India’s Water Portal could function as a quotable resource for the media and media advocates to help raise concerns on issues related to water resources, as a link to access feature stories, and as an information base for buttressing op-eds and articles. This author suggests that featuring media stories as well as stories of challenges faced by the people of India would make the portal more dynamic and truly for the people.
anilgulati5@gmail.com
All views expressed in this article are writer's personal opinion
Anil Gulati
The Government of India has designated the year 2007 as the "Water Year". Several districts of the country face challenges regarding the availability and quality of water and its accessibility; consequently, this formal theme should help draw immediate attention to the issue of judicious water management and its inherent link to sanitation.
An impetus to this theme was provided when the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, launched a "water portal" on January 12, 2007.
Called India’s Water Portal, this web-based initiative is expected to be a one-stop knowledge resource on water in the country. Developed by the Arghyam Trust, a non-governmental organization, the portal places important information in the public domain and offers a platform for debates, discussion, idea-sharing and case studies to help create a national knowledge base.
India’s Water Portal clearly lays its focus on water with its theme "safe, sustainable and for all". According to the portal’s articulated principles, it intends to be an open, inclusive, web-based platform for sharing water management knowledge amongst practitioners and the general public. It aims to draw on the rich experience of experts from the water sector, package their knowledge, add value to it through technology, and then disseminate it to a larger audience through the Internet. The portal intends to pursue alternative outreach methods like the print media, radio and workshops, to ensure that this knowledge reaches those who need it the most. The ultimate objective of the portal is to address equity and sustainability issues in the water sector.
In his inaugural address during the launch of the portal (refer to the Press Information Bureau release), Dr. Manmohan Singh said that "[it] can help create repositories of knowledge. Their utility will increase as Internet penetration grows."
In this portal, information is available both in Hindi and English, adding value to its reach within India. Although some information still needs to be translated, it is a good beginning. The home page displays a good photograph that could be enhanced by photograph credits and a caption.
The portal features sections like Organization, Tools and Techniques, Data and Resources, Networks and Projects that can be updated. Interestingly, meteorological data on various indicators from year 1901 to 2002 for any part of India is available, which should be useful for water resource planning and research. Links provide details on a various topics: for instance, in the section on Tools and Techniques, details are available on rainwater harvesting, agriculture, drinking water management, water body restoration, urban water management, ground water management, watershed development, sanitation, waste water management and water quality. Other highlights include lists of courses, movies, slideshows and case studies, research and policies related to specific areas of knowledge. The lists of recommended reading and links that are provided in some sections make the site web-friendly and a one-stop resource for information on water.
India’s Water Portal could function as a quotable resource for the media and media advocates to help raise concerns on issues related to water resources, as a link to access feature stories, and as an information base for buttressing op-eds and articles. This author suggests that featuring media stories as well as stories of challenges faced by the people of India would make the portal more dynamic and truly for the people.
anilgulati5@gmail.com
All views expressed in this article are writer's personal opinion
Sunday, January 21, 2007
How real are reality TV shows?
By Anil Gulati
In an era of TRPs (Television Rating Points) and SMSs, umpteen number of reality shows are stealing the limelight. They are high on TRPs and spinning money for their producers - a factor which motivates many others to join the race.
The one getting popular now is the Indian version of international worldwide hit 'Big Brother'. Called 'Big Boss' on Sony TV, it has 13 celebrity participants, though a few of them have been 'evicted' out of the game now. The challenge is to live under constant surveillance by TV cameras and be popular among participating contestants.
But that is not enough - the ultimate is to survive the 'SMS poll'. Reality shows like these, which engage audiences, have been growing. Some that I can remember and have just finished are 'Nach Baliye 2' and 'Jhalak Dhilka Ja'. In all them the major share of voting power via SMS or telephone calls, which decided the fate of the participant, was with audience.
The format may vary like in the case of 'Big Boss' - one who gets more SMSs is evicted out of the game while in other shows the participant wins.Stakes for participants are high in these shows - be it the prize money or popularity. Similarly, the money which spins around in these shows is extremely high. Be it advertisers who peg their products on the same, the audiences that not only watch the show and gives it higher TRPs, but also the audience that votes by SMS or telephone calls. Worth referring here would be an article on rediff.com some time back (February 2006). The article talked about the money these SMSs provide to the channel and mobile operator. On an average, a popular reality television show gets about 7 million cell phone text messages each episode.At Rs.4 per SMS, it adds up to Rs.28 million per episode. Over a year (52 weeks), that is an astounding Rs.1,460 million. On a 50-50 split between the channel and the mobile operator, it works out to Rs.730 million to the channel. Just one medium (SMS) on one reality show of 52 weeks can give you this much.
Despite these high stakes, many of them show so-called reality but doesn't look 100 percent real - they lack total transparency. Hardly any of these reality shows reveal the exact number of votes the winner or loser gets - something which all of us may like to know.
There have been times when one may question the decisions, but with no answer. Shows like these would look more real if there is more transparency and they reveal the exact numbers of SMSs received (not the percentage) and the system followed thereafter.I am not raising any doubts on the decision or making any allegations but am trying to make a point that the audience in this case, which spends the money, has all the right to know. For that matter, the participants who lose or win and advertisers who peg their products on these shows have an equal right to know.
Interestingly, the recent controversy on 'Big Brother', being telecast on Channel 4 in Britain, has made it more popular there. Similarly in India too, controversies and celebrities in the show make them more or less popular. More the controversies, more people get engrossed, reaping double benefit not only with higher TRPs but higher number of SMSs and more cash! In the case of 'Bigg Boss', a celebrity was brought back via a wild card entry but ... was it based on the channel's own business calculations that the celebrity could help bring higher TRPs or by votes of people? Nobody actually knows and numbers were not shared on the show.
One explanation could be that anyone who helps in increasing TRPs will also get higher number of SMSs, but that may be an assumption. Viewers tend to get attached to many of these shows and emotions are raised. Entertainment is there but viewers also spend their money to vote for them and are motivated to do so. One may be using the emotions of viewers for the business advantage of channels and in the process, the viewer does not even know the reality. Reality - as made to be perceived - may or may not be real. Media reports have also raised allegations, though very few, of contestants using their networks or providing SIM cards to vote for a particular person.
Ultimately, the TV channels are in an entertainment business venture and not social ventures, but do impact social structures. An element of transparency needs to be built into these reality shows, especially since it impacts the lives of people, engage them emotionally and use their money. It may be there but needs to be shared transparently with people.
(Anil Gulati is a resident of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He can be contacted at
anilgulati5@gmail.com)
Copyright Indo-Asian News Service
In an era of TRPs (Television Rating Points) and SMSs, umpteen number of reality shows are stealing the limelight. They are high on TRPs and spinning money for their producers - a factor which motivates many others to join the race.
The one getting popular now is the Indian version of international worldwide hit 'Big Brother'. Called 'Big Boss' on Sony TV, it has 13 celebrity participants, though a few of them have been 'evicted' out of the game now. The challenge is to live under constant surveillance by TV cameras and be popular among participating contestants.
But that is not enough - the ultimate is to survive the 'SMS poll'. Reality shows like these, which engage audiences, have been growing. Some that I can remember and have just finished are 'Nach Baliye 2' and 'Jhalak Dhilka Ja'. In all them the major share of voting power via SMS or telephone calls, which decided the fate of the participant, was with audience.
The format may vary like in the case of 'Big Boss' - one who gets more SMSs is evicted out of the game while in other shows the participant wins.Stakes for participants are high in these shows - be it the prize money or popularity. Similarly, the money which spins around in these shows is extremely high. Be it advertisers who peg their products on the same, the audiences that not only watch the show and gives it higher TRPs, but also the audience that votes by SMS or telephone calls. Worth referring here would be an article on rediff.com some time back (February 2006). The article talked about the money these SMSs provide to the channel and mobile operator. On an average, a popular reality television show gets about 7 million cell phone text messages each episode.At Rs.4 per SMS, it adds up to Rs.28 million per episode. Over a year (52 weeks), that is an astounding Rs.1,460 million. On a 50-50 split between the channel and the mobile operator, it works out to Rs.730 million to the channel. Just one medium (SMS) on one reality show of 52 weeks can give you this much.
Despite these high stakes, many of them show so-called reality but doesn't look 100 percent real - they lack total transparency. Hardly any of these reality shows reveal the exact number of votes the winner or loser gets - something which all of us may like to know.
There have been times when one may question the decisions, but with no answer. Shows like these would look more real if there is more transparency and they reveal the exact numbers of SMSs received (not the percentage) and the system followed thereafter.I am not raising any doubts on the decision or making any allegations but am trying to make a point that the audience in this case, which spends the money, has all the right to know. For that matter, the participants who lose or win and advertisers who peg their products on these shows have an equal right to know.
Interestingly, the recent controversy on 'Big Brother', being telecast on Channel 4 in Britain, has made it more popular there. Similarly in India too, controversies and celebrities in the show make them more or less popular. More the controversies, more people get engrossed, reaping double benefit not only with higher TRPs but higher number of SMSs and more cash! In the case of 'Bigg Boss', a celebrity was brought back via a wild card entry but ... was it based on the channel's own business calculations that the celebrity could help bring higher TRPs or by votes of people? Nobody actually knows and numbers were not shared on the show.
One explanation could be that anyone who helps in increasing TRPs will also get higher number of SMSs, but that may be an assumption. Viewers tend to get attached to many of these shows and emotions are raised. Entertainment is there but viewers also spend their money to vote for them and are motivated to do so. One may be using the emotions of viewers for the business advantage of channels and in the process, the viewer does not even know the reality. Reality - as made to be perceived - may or may not be real. Media reports have also raised allegations, though very few, of contestants using their networks or providing SIM cards to vote for a particular person.
Ultimately, the TV channels are in an entertainment business venture and not social ventures, but do impact social structures. An element of transparency needs to be built into these reality shows, especially since it impacts the lives of people, engage them emotionally and use their money. It may be there but needs to be shared transparently with people.
(Anil Gulati is a resident of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He can be contacted at
anilgulati5@gmail.com)
Copyright Indo-Asian News Service
India sees 2007 wheat output at 74m tonnes
ndia is likely to produce at least 74 million tonnes of wheat in 2007 with weather conditions favourable and farmers planting the crop over a larger area, a senior farm ministry official said on Friday.
“The estimate of 74 million tonnes is conservative,” agriculture commissioner Narendra Bahadur Singh told Reuters. “Production may cross 74 million tonnes if temperatures do not rise in February and March.” A sharp rise in temperature in February 2006 trimmed India’s wheat output to 69.5 million tonnes after early estimates for the year forecast production of around 74 million tonnes. A similar effect was seen in 2005.
“An additional one million hectares have been brought under wheat sowing this year,” Singh said. “So far, the weather has been conducive and if it does not get unusually warm, we will have a bountiful output.” In the current season, farmers have sown wheat on 27.55 million hectares, buoyed by higher prices of the cereal.
India, the world’s second-largest wheat producer, grows only one crop of the grain in a year. Sowing is in the winter months of November and December and the harvest takes place from March.
The country normally grows wheat on around 26 million hectares, mainly in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, and the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
“The estimate of 74 million tonnes is conservative,” agriculture commissioner Narendra Bahadur Singh told Reuters. “Production may cross 74 million tonnes if temperatures do not rise in February and March.” A sharp rise in temperature in February 2006 trimmed India’s wheat output to 69.5 million tonnes after early estimates for the year forecast production of around 74 million tonnes. A similar effect was seen in 2005.
“An additional one million hectares have been brought under wheat sowing this year,” Singh said. “So far, the weather has been conducive and if it does not get unusually warm, we will have a bountiful output.” In the current season, farmers have sown wheat on 27.55 million hectares, buoyed by higher prices of the cereal.
India, the world’s second-largest wheat producer, grows only one crop of the grain in a year. Sowing is in the winter months of November and December and the harvest takes place from March.
The country normally grows wheat on around 26 million hectares, mainly in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, and the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Poverty: unable to pay dowry: Girls attempts suicide
Pandurna Chhindwara
Dowry still plays an important role in marriages; at least in Pandurna in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh this seems to be the case. Inability to pay dowry as expected by boy’s parents lead her to attempt suicide. Her neighbours and other community members did help and manage to save her life. She stays with her brother and their parents are not alive anymore. Her brother was unable to pay money; in his absence she attempted suicide. Though state proclaims to be able to fight the menace of dowry and also proclaims to support marriages of eligible girls who are poor. Probably in this case this proclamation like in many cases does not appear to benefit poor.
Blog news
Dowry still plays an important role in marriages; at least in Pandurna in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh this seems to be the case. Inability to pay dowry as expected by boy’s parents lead her to attempt suicide. Her neighbours and other community members did help and manage to save her life. She stays with her brother and their parents are not alive anymore. Her brother was unable to pay money; in his absence she attempted suicide. Though state proclaims to be able to fight the menace of dowry and also proclaims to support marriages of eligible girls who are poor. Probably in this case this proclamation like in many cases does not appear to benefit poor.
Blog news
Friday, January 19, 2007
Betul (Madhya Pradesh) text books sale incident update
CM orders enquiry
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has ordered an enquiry into Betul incident on the issue of text books sale and has asked I.S. Dani Principal Secretary School Education to conduct a high level enquiry into the incident. Subsequently Santosh Mishra from Rajya Shiksha Kendra is going to Betul to undertake an enquiry into the incident.
More books found - In a private house three kilometer from Betul district HQ in Umari Village books worth lakhs of rupees were found again yesterday but the officials have denied the same and have told media that they had only kept it there for storage
Blog news
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has ordered an enquiry into Betul incident on the issue of text books sale and has asked I.S. Dani Principal Secretary School Education to conduct a high level enquiry into the incident. Subsequently Santosh Mishra from Rajya Shiksha Kendra is going to Betul to undertake an enquiry into the incident.
More books found - In a private house three kilometer from Betul district HQ in Umari Village books worth lakhs of rupees were found again yesterday but the officials have denied the same and have told media that they had only kept it there for storage
Blog news
Thursday, January 18, 2007
MADHYA PRADESH GETS CENTRAL FUNDS FOR DPAP UNDER `HARIYALI’
The Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned the release of second instalment amounting to Rs.40.50 lakh to the DRDA, Panna Distt. of Madhya Pradesh for implementation of Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Drought Prone Areas Programme” (DPAP) under “Hariyali Guidelines”. The Ministry of Rural Development has initiated `Hariyali’ for empowering the village community through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to undertake the area development progammes on watershed basis with financial and technical support from the Government. Under this initiative, all the on-going area development programmes, such as Integrated Wasteland Development Programmes (IWDP), Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) are to be implemented through the PRIs. New projects under the aforesaid area development programmes are implemented under `Hariyali Guidelines’ from 1st April , 2003. Special emphasis is given to rain water harvesting and desilting of ponds under watershed projects.
Under Hariyal programme of the Ministry, the efforts have resulted in bringing 87 lakh hectres of wasteland under green cover.
Under Hariyal programme of the Ministry, the efforts have resulted in bringing 87 lakh hectres of wasteland under green cover.
School text books sold in Betul & Tikamgarh
As many as five tonnes of Rajya Shiksha Kendra textbooks for classes one to eight and related material have been sold to a scrap dealer at a school in Khedli village, five km from this district headquarters, official sources said.
Madhya Pradesh Revenue Minister Kamal Patel has ordered an inquiry into the sale of school textbooks worth crores to a scrap dealer.Police seized the textbooks yesterday while District Collector Chandrahas Dubey suspended teachers Ramesh Pawar, Shivpal Ingre and Abhay Gorekar after the January 14 crime came to light.
Tikamgarh
As per media sources books distributed under SSA schmes have been found at whole sale shops and pan shops here in Tikamgarh. Papers from them is being used for making packets for retail goods or pan. They were allegedy sold to the scrap dealer.
Madhya Pradesh Revenue Minister Kamal Patel has ordered an inquiry into the sale of school textbooks worth crores to a scrap dealer.Police seized the textbooks yesterday while District Collector Chandrahas Dubey suspended teachers Ramesh Pawar, Shivpal Ingre and Abhay Gorekar after the January 14 crime came to light.
Tikamgarh
As per media sources books distributed under SSA schmes have been found at whole sale shops and pan shops here in Tikamgarh. Papers from them is being used for making packets for retail goods or pan. They were allegedy sold to the scrap dealer.
Drought hits India bird reserve
By Narayan Bareth, BBC News, Jaipur
A lack of rain is being blamed for bird shortages
The world-famous Bharatpur bird sanctuary in western India is facing a shortage of birds because of severe water scarcity, officials say.
Migratory birds visiting the area in Rajasthan state are down to only about 100 compared to some 10,000 last year. The lack of water follows low rainfall. Officials say the situation is so dire that six new wells have been dug.With so little water, many migratory birds are not nesting and are flying back to their areas of origin.
Tourists
Once the hunting ground of Indian royal families, the Bharatpur area is now one of the world's finest bird sanctuaries. It has more than 400 species of water birds, from as far afield as Afghanistan, Tibet and Central Asia. There are Siberian cranes from the Arctic, and greylag geese from China have become a regular feature.Last year, the birds made 2,000 nests but this time only a few have been seen.
The famous Siberian Crane, for example, was last sighted here in 2002.All this is bad news for the large numbers of bird lovers from around the world who visit Bharatpur during the winter season.
Officials say that although the number of tourists has remained the same, many are leaving the sanctuary complaining that they have seen far fewer birds.
"I came here from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and was disappointed when I found there were no birds. People will no longer come here if that remains the case," said one tourist Sudhir Rawat.
Extra water
Last year, more than 100,000 visitors spent time at the national park, including 34,000 from outside India. Now officials are trying to arrange for extra water from the Chambal River - which originates in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh - through a pipeline network.
However, environmentalists say this will not solve the problem, because the birds are used to a natural flow of water which also supplies food.
State officials reserved water from the Panchna Dam for the sanctuary three years ago, but were forced to give up their plan because of protests by local farmers, who said that they needed the water for their crops. The Bharatpur bird sanctuary, also known as the Keoladeo national park, was declared a national park in 1982 and a world heritage site in 1985.
A lack of rain is being blamed for bird shortages
The world-famous Bharatpur bird sanctuary in western India is facing a shortage of birds because of severe water scarcity, officials say.
Migratory birds visiting the area in Rajasthan state are down to only about 100 compared to some 10,000 last year. The lack of water follows low rainfall. Officials say the situation is so dire that six new wells have been dug.With so little water, many migratory birds are not nesting and are flying back to their areas of origin.
Tourists
Once the hunting ground of Indian royal families, the Bharatpur area is now one of the world's finest bird sanctuaries. It has more than 400 species of water birds, from as far afield as Afghanistan, Tibet and Central Asia. There are Siberian cranes from the Arctic, and greylag geese from China have become a regular feature.Last year, the birds made 2,000 nests but this time only a few have been seen.
The famous Siberian Crane, for example, was last sighted here in 2002.All this is bad news for the large numbers of bird lovers from around the world who visit Bharatpur during the winter season.
Officials say that although the number of tourists has remained the same, many are leaving the sanctuary complaining that they have seen far fewer birds.
"I came here from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and was disappointed when I found there were no birds. People will no longer come here if that remains the case," said one tourist Sudhir Rawat.
Extra water
Last year, more than 100,000 visitors spent time at the national park, including 34,000 from outside India. Now officials are trying to arrange for extra water from the Chambal River - which originates in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh - through a pipeline network.
However, environmentalists say this will not solve the problem, because the birds are used to a natural flow of water which also supplies food.
State officials reserved water from the Panchna Dam for the sanctuary three years ago, but were forced to give up their plan because of protests by local farmers, who said that they needed the water for their crops. The Bharatpur bird sanctuary, also known as the Keoladeo national park, was declared a national park in 1982 and a world heritage site in 1985.
Guna initiates Dular Scheme to combat malnourishment in kids
Guna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh has seven hundred seventy three children which are malnourished. Six hundred sixteen fall in the Grade three of malnourishment while 157 in Grade four. As part of district’s impetus to combat malnourishment among these kids, it has initiated news scheme. In this scheme these children individually will now be responsibility of specified health and Women and child development department workers. Specified ANM, anganwadi worker, MHW or ASHA will virtually have to adopt these kids individually. She/ he will have take care of their nutrition and help provide the child with the nutritious food as provided by the district. A monitoring card for each child will monitor their progress and will be available at their homes. It will be responsibility of the worker who adopts them to maintain the same. The worker who adopts them will get the child weighed regular in their presence, monitor progress and help provide them with the nutritious food and fill the monitoring card.
Under aegis of Collector G K Sharaswat with support from UNICEF this new scheme has been initiated which has been christened as Dular and was launched recently by the Minister in Charge of the district Rutam Singh.
Blog news
Under aegis of Collector G K Sharaswat with support from UNICEF this new scheme has been initiated which has been christened as Dular and was launched recently by the Minister in Charge of the district Rutam Singh.
Blog news
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