Worried by dengue, govt says will pay for tests
Tuesday, 17 August 2010 11:11
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Indian Express 17.08.2010
Worried by dengue, govt says will pay for tests
Chinki Sinha Tags : dengue tests, delhi Posted: Tue Aug 17 2010, 01:12 hrs
Vasant Kunj: There is plenty of stagnant water at DDA’s project site New Delhi: Worried by the rise in dengue cases in the City, the government has decided to step up preventive efforts and pay for the medical expenses of those who can’t afford it.
After the surge in cases reported from Okhla and Jamia Nagar, the Health department has said that it would pay for the expensive tests in Holy Family Hospital for those who can’t afford them.
Health Minister Kiran Walia, who was doing the rounds of the two localities until late on Monday evening, said the department would also press eight mobile clinics into service from Tuesday.
The mobile vans will first ascertain whether the patient is suffering from viral fever or dengue and refer them to Holy Family, which is already full of patients, and Malviya Nagar hospitals. Two ambulances would be dedicated to ferry the patients, she said.
Meanwhile, 20 more dengue cases were reported on Monday taking the number of cases to 254. As at least 32 of these cases have been reported from Jamia Nagar, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said 12 hand-operated and two vehicle-mounted fogging machines have been deployed there. Besides, the civic agency has also put an epidemiologist in charge of the area to prevent the disease from spreading.
The civic agency says it has identified three dengue hotspots in the national capital — Vasant Kunj, Jamia Nagar and Lady Hardinge Medical Hospital campus. Because of Commonwealth Games work, mosquitoes have started breeding in stagnant water at Vasant Kunj. In Jamia Nagar, it is the proximity to Yamuna and lack of proper drainage facilities that have led to the rise in the number of cases, said MCD health officer N K Yadav.
But the rise in the number of cases of dengue has also resulted in a spat between the MCD and the Delhi government. On Monday, Walia said the MCD was not doing enough to control the disease. “We are mapping out the areas. All this is MCD’s responsibility, but I am doing it. I have found that they have not been putting this anti-larvae solution and I have asked the commissioner to do something about it,” she said. “Did they think of setting up medical camps? People are suffering. Okhla must be taken up on a priority basis,” the minister added.
The civic agency counters that it has been doing its best. It is the government’s job to ensure civic amenities in such areas and not let them be in an “unauthorised state”, MCD officials said.
While fogging machines can be effective for a couple of days only, the disease can be brought under control only by preventing the breeding of mosquitoes. Excess rainfall in the Capital has not helped the situation either, a health official said.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 11:16
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Fish samples show no contamination, yet a word of caution
Tuesday, 17 August 2010 11:01
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Indain Express 17.08.2010
Fish samples show no contamination, yet a word of caution
Express News Service Tags : oil spill, mumbai fish contmination, mumbai Posted: Tue Aug 17 2010, 00:01 hrs Mumbai: Samples of local fish from municipal markets have shown no contamination following this month’s oil spill in the sea, but the BMC still advised citizens to be cautious when they buy such fish.
“Of the 92 municipal markets, 52 sell fish. We collected 138 samples from 30 markets that were close to the shore but none showed any contamination,” said Deepak Kamat, assistant commissioner in charge of markets. The samples included Bombay Duck, Mandeli and red prawns; the test conducted is called thin layer chromatography.
The fishing community protested against the advisory on caution. Bharati Worlikar, member of the Maharshtra Machchimar Vikas Sangh, said business has suffered. “Fishing is not allowed between June 10 and August 15. The local fish we sell during this period is usually what we had caught before June 10 and put in cold storage. How can those samples be contaminated? The BMC’s advisory has affected our livelihood,” she said.
Kamat said the samples collected were of fish caught illegally between August 7 and August 10. “Our advisory was aimed at ensuring there is no threat to public’s health. It was our responsibility to let people know the samples have tested negative. Fish-eaters can decide for themselves whether they want to eat local fish,” said Kamat.
Of the fish sold in city markets, 90 per cent is from other states such as Orissa, Karnataka and Gujarat. Only small fish are caught and sold locally.
THE SPILL AND AFTER
FISH: No contamination found in 138 samples of local fish taken from municipal markets. BMC says samples were of fish caught after spill, fishing community says these were from stock caught earlier. In any case, most fish in markets come from outside.
ENVIRONMENT: Unless action is taken immediately, harmful chemicals could remain on shore for years and have long-term, irreversible effects on environment, warns Dr Banwari Lal, director of TERI’s environmental and industrial biotechnical division.
SALVAGE: Loose cargo being transported under Customs supervision, sealed cargo being handled by shipping company.
COLLISION: Captain of MV Khalijia III, one of the ships involved in the collision that caused the spill, files for anticipatory bail. Earlier, captain of the other ship, MSC Chitra, too had filed plea and got interim bail.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 11:02
Not much space to breathe, residents feel cheated
Tuesday, 17 August 2010 10:48
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The Times of India 17.08.2010
Not much space to breathe, residents feel cheated
Shrinking open spaces and neglected parks, green belts show that Mohali, the future city of Punjab, has failed to match Chandigarh and Panchkula. In many areas, parks and green belts are being used for parking of vehicles, which has resulted in residents not going there for their regular walks.
Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Mohali municipal council (MC) are yet to sort out the issue of maintenance of parks and green belts, while in some areas resident welfare associations themselves have taken up the challenge.
Although a month has passed since Mohali MC adopted a resolution to look after the 500-odd parks located within the city taking over from GMADA, the truth is that there has been absolutely no maintenance work carried out in any of the parks till date.
BS Tej, president, Citizens Welfare Federation, Mohali, who has been living in the city for the last 28 years, said that the fast-developing city has failed to keep adequate provision for open spaces, which is the result of faulty planning. "Residents have been denied their right of adequate open space," he alleged.
Many feel that initially Mohali was just an industrial town and was later developed for residential purpose. "New sectors being planned have provision for better open spaces, but old phases lack the same," said Tej. The Leisure valley dividing city was once considered to be among the largest maintained open spaces in the country, with plans for further expansion, but the idea was shelved and the land used for construction of quarters. Having a population of over three lakh, Mohali right now does not even have a sports complex with running tracks which could be alternatively used by residents for daily strolls as well.
"We hardly go for a stroll in the parks due to their poor maintenance. It is a shame that the city has no such facility that can add leisure to the lives of residents," complains Sehaj Sandhu, a resident of Phase 7, Mohali. Madhur Preet, another resident of Sector 60, said that in Mohali public spaces are a victim of negligence. "The issue of maintaining the parks has remained unsolved for a long time. No matter how much you complain, nothing ever is done to improve the situation," she says.
In Mohali there are over 500 big and small parks and around 90 parks have been handed over to various resident welfare associations for maintenance, for which maintenance charge of Re 1.30 per square meter is paid to them.
Surjeet Bajwa, a resident of Phase-3B2, feels that the move to hand over maintenance of parks to residents was wrong. "Residents should not have been given this responsibility, when government bodies like GMADA and MC are present," he said.
It is not the residents alone who are complaining as even the elected public representatives rue the same. CouncillorHarman Preet Singh Prince said that lack of coordination between GMADA and MC has led to parks being neglected. "It was only in June this year that MC actually committed to maintaining over 500 parks in the city. The condition of the parks was not very good when we surveyed them about two weeks ago as these were not being looked after by GMADA since April. I have directed officials to look into the matter and draw up a list of parks requiring urgent maintenance and repair work," said MC president Rajinder Singh Rana.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 10:50
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