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Public Health / Sanitation

State, BMC play it safe

Thursday, 12 November 2009 10:52 administrator
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HindustanTimes 12.11.2009

State, BMC play it safe

The state and civic authorities, having learnt their lessons post-26/7, wanted to play it safe on Wednesday.

The civic body mobilised its disaster management system within hours of the meteorology department sending a cyclone alert.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) began evacuating people from low-lying and coastal areas and made arrangements for them in nearby schools.

Areas in Worli Koliwada, Kurla, Carter Road, Khar Danda and Nariman Baug were identified as vulnerable spots.

The government got six navy teams dispatched to low lying areas of Mumbai and ordered evacuation in Colaba, Worli, Geeta Nagar, Versova, Mahim and Juhu where slums are located along the coast.

Six rescue teams of trained civic employees — equipped with life jackets and boats — were posted outside vulnerable and the low-lying areas.

The civic body was also coordinating the bus and railway services.

Officials were also prepared to close down the Bandra Worli Sea Link if the wind velocity crossed 60 kmph. That, however, did not happen.

The state government issued a statewide cyclone alert especially for coastal areas. Following the predictions from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), of the cyclone affecting areas of Mumbai after 5 pm and touching north of Maharashtra between 10 pm to 12 pm the state government dispatched disaster teams to evacuate seven villages in Palghar and five in Dahanu.

But the process was discontinued in the evening after the alert was withdrawn.

It also sent helicopters to Konkan to locate five missing boats carrying 16 fishermen.

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 November 2009 10:59
 

UGD project may end by June 2010

Thursday, 12 November 2009 09:55 administrator
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Deccan Herald 12.11.2009

UGD project may end by June 2010
Mangalore, Nov 11, DH News Service:

The underground drainage (UGD) project being implemented by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) is expected to be completed by June 2010, said Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Management Project (KUDCEMP) Superintending Engineer (Drainages) Maninarayan.

 

 


Making a presentation on the project’s progress at the Mangalore City Corporation on Wednesday, he said about 74.25 per cent of the physical target of the project has been achieved so far. “A total of 267 km of UGD, two sewage treatment plants (STP) and four wetwells have been completed with an expenditure of Rs 142.2 crore. The works of the remaining two STPs and 18 wetwells are on progress,” he said.

Maninarayan said it would be better if the City Corporation takes over the Kavoor STP at the earliest. He also suggested for an urgent formation the special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the MCC and the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) to look into the operations of the STP.

Deputy Commissioner V Ponnuraj said the formation of the SPV is already at its advanced stage. He also suggested the MCC to take a decision on individual UGD connections, especially at Kavoor and Pachanady areas since the works of STPs are completed there.

“Priority need to be given to maximise UGD connections, while the Corporation should pass a resolution on connection deposits, charges, tariff and positive and negative steps to be taken for the implementation of individual connections,” he observed. “MCC should formulate a policy on managing sewage while permitting new multi-storeyed buildings. The builders of multistoreyed apartments should take the responsibility of constructing and maintaining small-scale STPs of their own,” the DC said.

Earlier, making a presentation on the progress of KUDCEMP’s water supply pipeline, KUDCEMP Superintending Engineer (Water Supply) Syed Ilias Pasha said the project would be completely commissioned by the end of December 2009.

“Of the 35 water supply zones in the city, the pipeline has been commissioned in 11 zones in the north of the Kuloor bridge and five in the south. The works are almost complete in six other zones while those in 13 zones are in progress,” he explained.

 

 

 

 
 

Govt launches comic book in city to teach children about diabetes

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 10:36 administrator
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Indian Express 11.11.2009

Govt launches comic book in city to teach children about diabetes

If your teen or tween has no time for exercise and is glued to a computer screen for hours playing games, there is cause for worry. If he/she is always nibbling chips and his burger-cola parties are beginning to give you sleepless nights, you need to worry more. Apart from contributing to the growing problem of obesity among children, here is worse news — 85 per cent of children diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes are overweight.

To create awareness regarding the increasing incidence of diabetes among children, comic books with a health focus were launched on Tuesday by Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

The books have characters like Sheela the housewife and Radha the next-door sister who “lead kids through a sequence of incidents on the subject”.

The 16-page comic book contains information like signs of diabetes, managing the disease and its detection. “Diseases that are normally seen in adults are now being seen with increasing frequency among children, particularly Type-2 diabetes,” said Dr Ashok Jhingan, chairperson of Delhi Diabetes Research Centre (DDRC), and the brain behind the concept. “And obesity is one of the major causes of the disease.”

To begin with, DDRC’s Juvenile Diabetes Education Foundation of India is launching 1,000 copies of the comic series named “Diabetes and You” in Hindi and English in various government, MCD, and private schools of Delhi and NCR.

“The comic comprises of stories, diagrammatical information and pictorial situations that will educate children about the deadly disease,” Dr Jhingan added.

So why comics to spread awareness? “Children love comics and try to emulate the characters, so we thought of using comics to catch them young,” he added. “It is important to generate awareness about diabetes, as by the time children reach Class V, they have already formed their food habits”

According to the International Diabetic Federation, India is the diabetes capital of the world, with as many as 56.5 million people suffering from the ailment. Studies have predicted that India will have about 87 million diabetic patients in 2020.

“To remove this dubious distinction, we thought of starting the series,” Dr Jhingan said. “And 14 to 18 per cent of the population of this metro is diabetic.”

Unveiling the comics, Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said, “If children are educated today, this can go a long way in preventing the spread of the disease in future.”

November 14 is celebrated as the World Diabetes Day. The theme for this year is “Prevention and Education for Diabetes”.

DDRC has already distributed the comic books to a few city schools, among them Delhi Public School, R K Puram, Bal Bharati School and Hansraj School. “Sixty five per cent of school children eat fast food at least once in a week. These comics will mould their ideas about the disease,” said Jhingan.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 10:39
 
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