Swine flu makes a comeback, but it's under control

In a bleak reminder of 2009 when the H1N1 virus or swine flu claimed scores of lives worldwide, a 34-year-old man died at Nashik Civil Hospital on April 1. Two days after Nandu Chavan died, he was found to be carrying the deadly virus. Another patient in the same hospital has also tested positive. So far 12 people have died of swine flu in Maharashtra this year — 11 from Pune district. “Chavan died of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The tests confirmed on Tuesday that he had swine flu,” said Dr Pradip Awate, state epidemiologist, directorate of health services. Health officials said the incidence is likely to drop in 2-3 weeks as summer has set in. Although these cases are sporadic and not similar to the outbreak in 2009 when swine flu claimed more than 90 people in Pune and more than 30 in Mumbai, doctors are not taking a chance. In Mumbai, eight positive cases of swine flu have been reported so far. Officials said all eight were recovering well after they were given the prescribed drug Tamiflu. Madhya Pradesh One man has died of swine flu in Bhopal, while one more has tested positive. The deceased, Anil Hole, 37, of Saket Nagar was admitted to a private hospital on March 25 with severe cold and lung congestion. “After he was diagnosed with pneumonia, his blood sample was sent to Jabalpur to check for swine flu. Hole died on March 27,” said Dr PN Agrawal of Agrawal Hospital and Research Centre. The report confirmed Hole was suffering from swine flu. Gujarat There are four confirmed cases of swine flu in Gujarat, from Anand, Rajkot and Ahmedabad. “All four are under treatment,” said Gujarat’s health minister Jaynarayan Vyas. “We are taking all possible measures to see that the epidemic does not spread. All government hospitals are equipped to treat the patients detected with deadly virus,” Vyas added. In 2010, swine flu had claimed 18 lives in Gujarat — the casualties being 21% of the total cases reported in the state, which was significantly higher than the national average of 10%. Rajasthan One person has died of swine flu in Nagaur, while a four-year old boy has tested positive in Jodhpur, says the health department. Since Sunday, six people have been found swine flu positive. Director public health Dr BR Meena said there was no need to worry, as the department was equipped to combat this disease. Source-Hindustan Times

Not work for a small child

Imagine this: you have two children, a toddler and a teenager. Would you ever leave the younger one in the care of the older one (unsupervised by a senior) for a long period of time? Or would you leave your minor child unattended at home with gas and electrical appliances within his/her reach? In both cases, we assume, the answer would be a firm no. But when it comes to a minor domestic help, such caution is thrown to the winds, even though the act of employing a minor as a domestic is illegal. But since there is a gap between the law and its implementation (especially as long as things don’t get out of hand), child labour thrives in India, right under our benign gaze. In yet another case of such child abuse, the Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested a doctor couple, Sanjay and Sumita Verma, for locking up their minor domestic help at home and going on a holiday to Bangkok with their 11-year-old daughter. It was four days after their departure that the girl, who hails from Jharkhand, was rescued. She later told the police that the couple starved and beat her on a regular basis and confined her to the house. A case was filed against the couple under the Juvenile Justice Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and the Indian Penal Code. Despite a web of strong laws, the number of child workers in the country is substantial. The 2001 census, which enumerated child labour by occupation, revealed that 1.86 lakh children below the age of 14 were engaged as domestic workers. Along with very slack implementation, even after so many years of the Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act, 1986, coming into being, the trend continues because not only is it cheaper to hire young children but also because there is silent societal support — or at least no strong opposition — against such hiring. This is only supported sometimes by a specious argument that the children who work as domestic help are at least better off than they would have been in their villages, where two square meals could be a luxury at times. There is hardly any logic to the argument because for a working child, a day spent as a domestic help means she goes two steps back from the constitutional rights she enjoys as a citizen and there can be no greater joy and sense of security for a child than to be with her parents. The demand for such young workers has been rising in India and the sorry state of affairs in the rural areas has only helped in stitching a demand-supply link, which is usually serviced by unscrupulous touts who indulge in child trafficking. While the laws can help to tackle cases that come to light, there must be equal if not greater stress on tackling the root of the supply. Is this conspiratorial silence because children don’t have a voice or a vote? Source-Hindustan Times

53 women sterilized in Bihar in 2 hours

NEW DELHI: The Guinness Book of world record would have been happy to include this feat by a surgeon on January 7 in Bihar's Araria district - 53 sterilization operations on females in two hours with the help of unqualified staff in Kaparfora Government Middle School that did not have basic amenities like running water or sterilizing equipment. Instead, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Union and state governments on a PIL alleging similar cases being repeated in most states where female sterilization (minilap procedures) were outsourced to NGOs that take help of private doctors to conduct these surgeries in woefully unhygienic conditions. Appearing for PIL petitioner Devika Biswas, a native of Araria and a health right activist, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves told a bench of Justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale that despite extensive guidelines issued by the apex court "inhuman sterilizations, particularly in rural areas, continue with reckless disregard for the lives of poor women" and cited the Bihar incident as a case study. "In clear violation of nearly all the guidelines, government Accredited Social Health Activist under National Rural Health Mission workers recruited between 50 and 63 below poverty line, scheduled caste and other backward class women for NGO (Jai Ambe Welfare Society) sterilization camp at Government Middle School, Kaparfora, on January 7. Neither the NGO nor the surgeon conducted pre-operative tests to determine suitability of the enlisted women for sterilization," alleged Biswas, who hails from Araria and claimed to be an eye-witness. "As a result of these operations, three women were left profusely bleeding. Another woman was operated, despite being three-month pregnant. She miscarried days after the procedure. The surgeon left immediately after operating 53 women between 8pm and 10 pm. After the surgeries, all 53 women were crying out in pain. Though they were in desperate need of medical care, no one came to assist them," she added. Throughout India, rural women are routinely dehumanized in such unsanitary sterilization camps, she said. "Reports and fact-findings from Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh demonstrate that standards of hygiene, consent and care are routinely ignored in sterilization camps. In all cases, poor, tribal and rural women are the victims of these unsafe and illegal practices," Biswas alleged. The PIL petitioner sought an independent inquiry by a body like National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights into incidents narrated in the petition and also into the status of implementation of the guidelines passed by the apex court in Ramakant Rai vs. Union of India. She also sought a thorough probe into the January 7 sterilization camp incident at Kaparfora School and action against the delinquents. Source-The Times Of India

Amul milk to cost Rs 2 per litre more

AHMEDABAD: Milk prices are set to soar yet again. Rising inflation and increase in excise duty on packaging material for milk pouches are likely to make milk dearer by Rs 2 per litre, said R S Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets Amul milk across the country. While he did not say when the price hike will come into effect, sources said it could happen over the next couple of months. GCMMF sells 80 lakh litres of fresh pouched milk everyday. The remuneration to farmers, who supply milk to the federation, has gone up 50 per cent over the last three years. "We need to compensate the farmers in times of rising costs and inflation. Although the hike will not be too steep, consumers will still have to share the burden," said Sodhi at a function to launch Amul's whey protein malt beverage for children in Ahmedabad. Consumers are already paying 11% more than what they were paying last year. "Last year the procurement price was increased by 11 per cent, while this year we will give 14-15 per cent more prices to farmers," said Sodhi. GCMMF plans to increase prices by 5-7 % in 2012-13. GCMMF has already increased the price of buttermilk by Re 1 per litre in Gujarat from Sunday. Milk prices increased twice during 2011 in Gujarat. GCMMF first hiked prices of standard and double toned milk by Rs 2 and Re 1 per litre, respectively, in April 2011. Three months later, the rates were revised again. The price hike in July 2011 was the 14th price hike introduced by GCMMF since 2006. After the price revision, consumers started paying Rs 36 per litre for Amul Gold whereas Amul Shakti cost Rs 33 per litre. Even Amul Slim & Trim now cost Rs 25 per litre for consumers. GCMMF is planning an investment of Rs 3,000 crore over the next five years towards capacity enhancement and new product development. Source-The Times Of India

More trouble for Ryder ahead of IPL

Troubled New Zealand player Jesse Ryder's attempt to return to cricket ahead of the IPL turned out to be a stormy affair as he got into an altercation with a rival player during a club game and was reported for indiscipline. "Jesse Ryder has been charged with breaching Cricket Wellington's code of conduct, following an incident during a club match on Saturday," the media here reported. Ryder, who will represent Pune Warriors in the IPL, was playing his first match after taking a sabbatical from the game due to his drinking problems. The altercation happened during an appearance for his Naenae Old Boys' club. "Ryder reacted angrily to a comment made to him by Wellington team-mate Harry Boam, who was playing for Karori, and the pair had to be separated by umpire Stu Bullen," a report said. Ryder left for India on Monday, a day later than originally scheduled. Source-The Hindusta Times

Army Chief meets Antony, discusses procurement issues

Army Chief Gen VK Singh has met with defence minister AK Antony to discuss procurement projects for the Army, their first official meeting days after his letter to the Prime Minister on the poor state of defence preparedness got leaked.
The meeting was held to discuss the capital acquisition projects of the Army which will be attended by Gen Singh along with the top brass of the Defence Ministry, Ministry officials said.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Army Chief's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he had raised issues about lack of ammunition for the tank fleet and obsolescence of the air defence system of the Army.
The leakage of the letter in the media had triggered a controversy and the CBI is looking into the matter.
A separate meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council will also be chaired by Antony. It will be attended by the Army Chief as also Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne.
The DAC, the apex body of the Defence Ministry, will discuss procurement proposals relating to the three Services, DRDO and the Coast Guard.
The DAC will also discuss the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) and changes in the offsets policy under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), they said.
The LTIPP will list all the requirements of the armed forces for the next 15 years and will help in enabling the private defence sector players to prepare them to meet the requirements of the armed forces.
The offsets policy, which mandates at least 30% worth of defence contracts above Rs 300 crore to be invested back into the country, will also come up for discussion at the meeting.
The last DAC had also discussed the issue but due to disagreements over certain issues, it was postponed for the next meeting.

Source- The Hindustan Times