Govt. to promulgate fresh ordinance on Land Bill
Even as the opposition to the Land Acquisition Bill continues in different quarters, the NDA government is determined to bring to Parliament its amended Bill through a fresh Ordinance. The amended NDA
Hindu
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No let-up in Delhi's water crisis
Haryana continues to withhold city's share of drinking water Water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to our demand' NEW DELHI: There is no let-up in Delhi's water crisis as Haryana continues to withhold the city's share of drinking water. The water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down, affecting large parts of North and Central Delhi. While production at Chandrawal on Monday came down by 30 per cent, the reduction at Wazirabad is almost 50 per cent. "Despite our repeated reminders and requests, Haryana has refused to release our full share of water. We have reduced water production at both the plants to maintain the critical pond level at Wazirabad,' said a Delhi Jal Board official. He said the Board had again urged the Central Water Commission to intervene. "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to meet our drinking water needs.' In the absence of the required quantum of water, several parts of the NDMC area including residences of VIPs and some parts of North Delhi including Model Town, Civil Lines and Kingsway Camp have been experiencing water shortage. Referring to the water crisis, Jal Board's Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur said: "Even if Haryana is getting less water from Bhakra Beas Management Board, it cannot arbitrarily cut Delhi's share. The water sharing agreement does not give them the discretion to reduce the quantity meant for the Capital.' He said taking note of the impending summer, the Board is prepared to bring the issue to the notice of the "highest authorities' and the Chief Minister too has expressed concern over Haryana's refusal to stick to the water sharing agreement. "The Chief Minister has made it clear that the issue will be taken to the highest levels. She said the Delhi Government would do whatever is required to secure Delhi's share from the Yamuna waters,' Mr. Mathur added.
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Centre launches new scheme for girl child
The government on Monday launched
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Troubled partnerships in healthcare sector
Markets and partnerships can be effective only when there are strong and enforceable regulations, meaningful competition, and an informed consumer base. These are rare in rural India. With less than one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) invested in public healthcare provision, India is currently one of the world's most privatised health economies. It is a country which is home to one-fifth of the world's diseases, where the regular level of malnourished children is higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa, and with higher rates of anaemia and maternal under-nourishment. The buzzwords inscribed into current government policy, includi ng the Eleventh Five Year Plan, are Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
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Saving the Olive Ridley
Endangered sea turtles such as the Olive Ridley have inspired campaigns to save the seas, sandy beaches, and dunes. To save turtles is to save an entire ecosystem. But this protected mascot species faces a rising threat from avoidable coastal development, the planting of exotic trees, and the illumination of beachfront dwellings. The building of coastal structures, including groynes and walls, blocks off access and exacerbates erosion; the planting of casuarina trees preve nts nesting; and lights along the coast confuse turtle hatchlings, fatally attracting them inland. Unless these threats are addressed quickly and scientifically, the Olive Ridley may lose its nesting habitats in the Indian subcontinent and suffer a sharp decline. For many years now, Olive Ridley deaths traceable to human interference have been high. Despite high levels of awareness, recent reports speak of a continuing tragedy. Indian Institute of Science ecologists fear that about 10,000 turtles die annually in Orissa, where they nest en masse. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh provide low or medium density habitats but they are vital to the health of the species. The planting of casuarina trees on the coast, particularly along the high tideline, is a man-made stressor for the Olive Ridley. Although the intention is to protect habitations from cyclones using a tree belt (as in Tamil Nadu), using an exotic species to create a barrier is at best naive. The outcome of massive tree planting on the high tideline on the basis of shaky evidence threatens to deprive the Olive Ridley of its nesting habitat, and many other species of their general habitat. Scientists at a conference organised in Tamil Nadu in 2006 by the Forest Department, the UNDP, and the Nature Conservation Foundation outlined such negative outcomes of poorly conceived interventions. Clearly, it is futile to attempt engineering solutions to make coastlines resilient to natural events such as cyclones and tsunamis: the ecological costs are just too high and the benefits uncertain. There is little merit in creating coastal casuarina plantations (which many fishermen do not favour around their habitations) and concrete groynes and walls (which accelerate coastal erosion elsewhere). The substantial funds available for such projects from multilateral and official agencies can instead be used to mitigate fundamental problems that affect ecosystem health: pollution, saltpans, aquaculture, and inappropriate constructions. A healthy future for the Olive Ridley and the rest of the ecosystem depends on providing active protection on the coast and allowing coastal ecosystems to regenerate naturally.
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Union Government yet to clear 21 projects
The Union Government, which has launched several schemes for inclusive growth and tackling the rural-urban divide, seems to be dragging its feet in sanctioning rural development projects submitted by the State Government. The Centre has not cleared 21 rural projects estimated at nearly Rs. 200 crore, and now officials are of the view that the State is unlikely to get the projects sanctioned. Though the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj submitted proposals for various projects two years ago under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swaraj Yojana (SGSY), the Centre is yet to clear them. Nine of the 21 projects are related to dairy activities in various districts (Rs. 79.58 crore), three to rural livelihood and employment opportunities (Rs. 44.23crore), two are aimed at providing better marketing infrastructure in villages (Rs. 14.35 rore) and two each to set up incubation centres (Rs. 25.57 crore), rehabilitation of Devadasis (Rs. 24.64 crore) and setting up of a "Kushal Gram', a marketing complex for SGSY beneficiaries of the District Rural Development Foundation and B.V.V. Sangha of Bagalkot (Rs. 4.67 crore). The department has submitted nine detailed project reports to promote dairy activities in Bangalore Rural and Bangalore Urban, Mandya, Bellary, Uttara Kannada, Hassan, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Davangere and Belgaum districts. To implement these projects, Central assistance of Rs. 59.8 crore has been sought, while Rs. 19.78 crore is to be contributed by the district-level milk unions.
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Pact signed on use of HIV treatment drug
The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) has signed an agreement with pharmaceutical company Pfizer under which the pharma major will give IPM a royalty-free license to use maraviroc, its newly approved HIV treatment, as a microbicide for the prevention of HIV infection. Maraviroc is one of a new class of antiretroviral drugs which works to prevent HIV infection by preventing the virus from gaining entry into target cells. "The drug's safety and efficacy data as a therapeutic will speed its development as a microbicide. This agreement adds a promising new compound to IPM's pipeline allowing us to explore new ways to prevent infection,' Zeda Rosenberg, CEO of the IPM told The Hindu here on Wednesday. Microbicides are products, such as gels, films and rings that could be applied vaginally to prevent transmission of HIV during vaginal intercourse. IPM is also developing other delivery methods such as long-last vaginal rings that release drug gradually over time. Under this agreement, IPM would work to develop maraviroc as a vaginal microbicide with the right to develop, manufacture and distribute the microbicide in developing countries that would reduce the cost of the end product and make it accessible to women in the developing countries, Ms Rosenberg said. Trials continue Admitting that the first general of microbicides products did not seem to work well, Ms Rosengerg said the good news was that large scale efficacy trials for the second generation of microbicides were on, and if successful, would be available in the market in the next five years. Results from the second IPM dapivirine ring study have shown that the reservoir vaginal ring was safe and well tolerated by women after seven days of use. IPM has finalised a protocol for a placebo vaginal ring safety and acceptability study to be conducted in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. The study, initiated in early 2007, will include 200 female participants and will generate critical data on the needs and preference of women and their male partners, in preparation for the eventual introduction of and access to microbicides among user population.
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Jal Board move to check water fluctuations
Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States. Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city's share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil. Options DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee. "Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,' said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. A central monitoring mechanism he explained "would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.' "A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,' he said. Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months. VIP areas Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.
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Making it safe for the Indian tiger
Keeping the faith: Rajesh Gopal, Inspector General of Forest and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, at his office in New Delhi. The leader of tiger saving project, Rajesh Gopal , is hopeful about protecting the national animal. He talks with Bindu Shajan Perappadan about the latest advancements in conservation programmes. Often referred to as the commander-in-chief of the army engaged in saving India's national animal, the tiger, Inspector General of Forests and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Rajesh Gopal by his own admission "is concerned but has hope for the Indian tiger since it has responded to managerial intervention under Project Tiger.' "See no one can be happy with the situation that we are in right now. I am concerned but don't feel helpless. Our major tiger landscapes hold promise as seen in the current assessment. For the first time in several years we now have a fairly accurate count of the tiger population in the country and its habitat status. This is a good benchmark to start with at the landscape level,' said Gopal. While the Bengal tiger is endangered as it is being poached for its body parts to cater to a growing illegal world market, the population is even more precious because the Caspian, Java and Bali tiger population is already extinct; the South China tiger is nearly extinct in the wild. Spearheading a multi-crore ambitious project aimed at bringing to a halt the flight to extinction of the Indian tiger, Gopal is happy about the new method adopted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to count the tiger population in the country. "Earlier the methodology used was that of taking the total count, where we counted individual pug marks and arrived at an estimation of the tiger population in the country, the method had some obvious inherent problems. We are happy with the new method we have adopted which looks at the population of tigers in a more holistic way, and cannot be compared with the earlier one,' said Gopal. Questioned about the reduction in the tiger population despite efforts to conserve the population Gopal said: "If you look at the arithmetic of it we don't seem to be on top of the situation. However, a more scientific approach will allow us to realise that the figure of over a thousand tigers that we are talking about now is more close to the real picture, given the limiting factors prevailing in the tiger habitats. Another point to take into consideration is the fact that with the available potential area to protect the wild tiger population in India, we don't have the inviolate space to accommodate more than an additional 500 tigers, without fostering man-wildlife conflicts.' Listing protection of the big cat and the fragmentation of the tiger habitat as two of the biggest challenges faced by the Project Tiger, Gopal also spoke about the several new initiatives to boost the tiger population in the country. ''The report of the Tiger Task Force has been one of the most realistic and workable document that we have come up with. Several schemes have been put in place to ensure the acceleration of measures to identify and correct the problems with the current system,' says Gopal. ''The Prime Minister has reviewed the status several times and has also written to various Chief Ministers to take urgent action and work with the Central Government in protecting the tiger. We have also understood the acute need of younger and more motivated staff to stand up against the strong poaching network in the country. Taking a more holistic approach to counter man-animal conflict, the relocation package has been enhanced to Rs.10 lakh per family and Tiger Protection Force has been deployed in 17 important areas,' said Gopal. He adds: "As many as eight new reserves have been included in Project Tiger, and the plan allocation has been stepped up to Rs. 600 crores, apart from the Rs. 50 crores for creating an anti-poaching force. India has also initiated dialogue with neighbouring countries including China, Bangladesh and Bhutan to speak about common issues of concern in respect of curbing killing and smuggling of tigers.' Project Tiger is also now starting to look at the individual problems faced by various tiger reserves in the country. ''Instead of clubbing and generalising the problems across various parks in the country we are beginning to speak with individual heads of parks to understand their unique problem. Working with individual States and understanding their array of issues and seeking to solve them case by case, we expect will help us work towards protecting the tiger.'. For the future, Project Tiger has plans to employ technology to protect its wild tiger population. ''We are bringing advanced communication technology, digital database, networking systems and tiger population evaluation system to ensure maximum benefits of the various programmes underway to project the tiger,' said Gopal.
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Spotting stripes in the grass
With the tiger fighting a losing battle for survival in the wild, here is the story of one man's resolve to see the royal beast in its natural habitat. Sought-after prize of tourists: A tigress at the Ranthambore Park. Tales of all-eluding tigers are perhaps the most swapped stories among eco-tourists. I remember sharing tables and travel stories with complete unknowns at a non-descript coffee house in Kolkata a year and a half back. Those were the days when the realisation that there existed fine demarcations between travellers also had not dawned on me. On that table that day, I understood that I was a cultural traveller
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Vaccine that ended smallpox destroyed
Atlanta: The U.S. government has announced it has said goodbye to one of the world's greatest lifesavers