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BMC’s TB, malaria death figures inconsistent, RTI query reveals

Friday, 08 July 2016 09:06 administrator
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The Hindu     08.07.2016     

BMC’s TB, malaria death figures inconsistent, RTI query reveals

 Number of death certificates citing TB and malaria as causes far more than cases recorded by civic surveillance cells

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) reply to an RTI query filed by city-based NGO Praja Foundation has revealed discrepancies in the number of deaths due to tuberculosis and malaria recorded by the civic body, and the death certificates it has issued citing these diseases as cause of death.

Members of the Praja Foundation, which released its annual ‘State of Health of Mumbai’ report on Thursday, said the figures reflected the civic body’s failure in collecting data from private health facilities to arrive at the real burden of disease and coming up with appropriate strategies to tackle the problem.

Using the RTI Act, the NGO found that for instance, the BMC’s TB Control Unit recorded 1,459 deaths in 2015 but TB was given as the cause of death in 5,680 death certificates issued by the civic body. Similarly, a wide gap was noticed between the malaria deaths recorded by the civic health department’s Malaria Surveillance Report and the number of death certificates issued citing malaria as the cause of death.

The NGO said it had conducted a survey of over 25,000 households and found that around 34 per cent used government health facilities. Its members said BMC relies solely on data from civic hospitals and dispensaries, while ignoring patients who opt for private medical facilities.

Also, they said, the BMC’s figures have remained more or less consistent over the years, and reflect in its strategy to battle the diseases. Milind Mhaske of Praja Foundation said interventions to tackle these diseases would have been more focussed if data from non-BMC health facilities had been factored in as well.

The NGO found that most malaria, tuberculosis and dengue deaths were in the productive age group of 20 to 59. However, the issue wasn’t raised in the assembly by MLAs including members of the public health committee.

The Praja Foundation has sought a verbal autopsy (a research method involving interviews of families of the deceased). “This is an essential tool to understand the cause of death, and should be undertaken seriously,” the report notes.

A verbal autopsy by BMC in 2015 notes 7,090 TB-related deaths in 2014, while the TB Control Unit had recorded only 1,315 deaths.

Despite repeated attempts, BMC executive health officer Dr. Padmaja Keskar and other senior civic health officials were not available for comment.

The TB Control Unit recorded 1,459 deaths in 2015, but TB was the cause of death in 5,680 death certificates

 

Corporation to prepare master plan to develop schools

Monday, 20 June 2016 11:48 administrator
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The Times of India     20.06.2016 

Corporation to prepare master plan to develop schools

Kozhikode: The corporation has planned to prepare a master plan for the schools under it to carry out infrastructure development. A meeting chaired by education standing committee chairman M Radhakrishnan had decided to prepare master plan for all schools from lower primary to higher secondary in the corporation limits.

The civic body will prepare the master plan highlighting the available facilities and deficiencies at the schools and measures needed to be adopted to improve the infrastructure and to enhance the academic quality. The corporation has a total of 161 schools under it.

Radhakrishnan said the decision was taken to ensure comprehensive development of schools maintained by the civic body envisaging projects under its annual plan programmes.

"The school authorities have been directed to prepare the plans at the earliest. The required development funds development for the schools will be allotted on the basis of the deficiencies that are being reported," he said adding that the preparation of master plans will also help the civic body to take up schemes for improving the infrastructure.
 

Civic body to set up hotel to run biogas plant at central fish market

Monday, 20 June 2016 11:16 administrator
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The Times of India      20.06.2016 

Civic body to set up hotel to run biogas plant at central fish market

KOZHIKODE: Heaps of waste piled up in the surrounding areas of the biogas plant situated at the central fish market at Valiyangadi will be removed to set up a hotel. Members of Nirvau, Vengeri, entrusted with the task have already started releasing the stored biogas from the plant before clearing the piled up waste at the areas. At the present, around four cents of land being used to dump the animal parts and plastic waste after the biogas plant that was established in 2009 stopped functioning soon after its commissioning.

Niravu will set up a hotel to sell the traditional snacks and fried fish items. Considered to be first of this kind of initiative in the entire state, Niravu is taking up the project after the successful execution of waste disposal at the Karipur airport. Kerala Agro Industries Corporation (KAIC) Ltd had set up the biogas plant at the market at a cost of Rs 27.6 lakh as part of the civic body's decentralised bio-waste management project in 2009. The plant has the capacity to generate 60 to 70 cubic meters of biogas per day.

The biogas plant having the capacity to treat 2000 kg fish and meat waste per day will be made functional. The generated biogas will be utilised to run the hotel setting up at the site through the sponsorship. Around Rs 15 lakh is required to set up the hotel. On an average around 200 kg animal waste is being generated at the market.

Babu Parambath, Niravu coordinator said all the dumped waste will be disposed and a hotel will be constructed within a month. "We have started releasing around 80 cubic meters of stored biogas plant from the plant'' he said adding that two sponsors have already come forward to render financial assistance to set up the hotel," he said.

Meanwhile, corporation health standing committee chairman K V Baburaj said the civic body will entrust Niravu to run the plant and to carry out maintenance of biogas plant for a period of five years. "The irregular maintenance resulted in non-functioning of the biogas plant. The gas generating from the biogas will be utilised to run the hotel and also to light up the lights at the market," he said.
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