Twice every year, between 1981 and 2000, a helicopter would whirr around the hills of the Western Ghats in Kasargod, a district in north Kerala bordering Karnataka, spraying endosulfan over the cashew plantations on the upper reaches. Children would rush out to take a look at the helicopter and the white spray would settle like mist on their heads and on leaves and shimmer in the sunlight. But that’s also...
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Ailing Orissa by Prafulla Das
Contaminated water sources and the virtual absence of health care claim dozens of lives in the State, now in the grip of cholera. COME monsoon and the backward regions of Orissa are in the grip of water-borne diseases. This year too has been no different. According to official figures, 150 people had died of cholera and diarrhoea in the State as on September 15. Unofficial reports put the toll at more...
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KEY TRENDS • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14 • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...
More »Ramesh said Bt will destroy brinjal’s ayurvedic value, experts beg to differ by Amitabh Sinha, Teena Thacker
One of the claims Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh made to justify his freeze on Bt brinjal was that the Bt gene would “destroy the medicinal properties of brinjal” which is used in several “traditional” forms of medicine. This claim, too, is being contested by experts as Ramesh comes under increasing pressure from within his government — the Prime Minister has called a meeting after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar warned against...
More »NCW concern over emergency contraceptive pills
Seeks opinion of Medical Council and Ministry in curbing their promotion Oral emergency contraceptive pills gaining popularity among young girls Advertisements quite misleading and its side-effects are undisclosed Concerned over the indiscriminate use of emergency contraceptive pills sold across the country, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Medical Council of India seeking their opinion in curbing the promotion of these...
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