Sitting on an iron bench along a busy street, Chaman Lal sticks his fingers into a mug full of a greasy concoction and then applies the dark-red brew to areas where his patients complain of pain. Lal -- who does not have a license to practice medicine, but claims to be a successful bone doctor and traditional healer -- says this potion of 18 herbs is a cure-all. His large signboard,...

KEY TRENDS   • According to NSS 76th Round, the major source of drinking water of the household was hand pump in the rural areas and piped water into dwelling in the urban areas. About 42.9 percent of the households in the rural areas used hand pump as the principal source of drinking water and about 40.9 percent of the households in the urban areas used piped water into dwelling as the principal...

-The Hindu Spraying of Disinfectants on human beings is ineffective and also harmful, it says in circular Chennai: The Directorate of Public Health (DPH) has issued a note calling into question the efficacy of sanitisation tunnels, and said no more such tunnels are to be installed in Tamil Nadu. With disinfection tunnels being set up in public places in some parts of the State, K. Kolandaswamy, director of public health, in a circular...