In India, a country with a vast population and a diverse socio-economic fabric, healthcare remains fraught with challenges including disparities in access. These socio-economic disparities are deep, and they influence health outcomes. It is imperative to bridge these gaps amid the ongoing epidemiological, nutritional and demographic transitions that are bringing …
The residents of Vieques, a Puerto Rican island, have achieved a landmark victory in a long-standing dispute about the us navy's activities on their island. The us navy uses Vieques to provide training to battle groups. Donald H Rumsfeld, the us defence secretary, recently ordered the navy to call off …
at least 150 people suffering from lung cancer have been admitted in the New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (aiims) during the past six months. A special type of lung cancer caused due to air pollution accounts for 80 per cent of these cases. "As lungs are always …
The Union ministry of surface transport (most) frames vehicular emission norms and notifies certification procedures for vehicles, as per the Central Motors Vehicles Act (cmva). The emission norms for converted cng buses were notified on February 9, 2000, more than one and half years after the sc order of July …
If the Delhi Transport Corporation and the State Transport Authority do not increase the number of their buses, why should we increase capacity for supply? If I order equipment worth several crore rupees without there being adequate number of buses, how would I answer to my superiors?' Thus Rajiv Sharma, …
In complete mockery of its very title, the Union ministry of environment and forests (mef) has shown no interest in pushing for implementation of the cng order despite all the power at its disposal. mef is only too happy with the national emission standards, which are nothing more than the …
It has remained confused all along about the cng issue, giving contradictory statements. Delhi government officials have been easy conduits of misleading information from those pro-industry factions that are looking for excuses to not implement the sc order. It began by selectively citing biased documents from the us , supplied …
Though private bus operators will have to shoulder a bulk of the responsibility of phasing in CNG buses, they were the last to be informed by the Delhi government. The first public notification for them came in October 1999. The first meeting to discuss the logistics with them happened as …
It isn't just the ministries that are misinforming the public about cng and ensuring the non-implementation of the Supreme Court order on cng. The Tata Energy Research Institute (teri), a New Delhi-based energy consultancy, has also contributed to such efforts. The teri -industry nexus is strangulating adoption of cng . …
More than one million cng vehicles are plying in different parts of the world. Argentina, Italy, Russia and the us have the largest share. The natural gas vehicle market is expected to grow dramatically in the us . The main reason for this is the thrust on clean fuels and …
A study says particles emitted by diesel engines can harm the foetus, breaching the safety of the womb. Another study says the risk of developing cancer is four times higher among children travelling in a diesel bus as compared to someone travelling in a car in front of the bus. …
The us navy tests in Vieques, an island of Puerto Rico, have caused an increase of cancer cases on the island by 52 per cent. Medical reports show that cancer cases among the 9,300 Viequenses were 27 per cent higher than those living in the Puerto Rican mainland. Residents are …
Most of them have been putting it down to a supernatural curse. Jatadhari, the guardian spirit (theyyam) of the area, is angry, believe several people of Padre village of Enmakaje Gram Panchayat (village council) in Kasaragod district of Kerala. Family after family has people suffering from diseases that were never …
To promote it in rural areas it is essential to cut the hype. Perhaps information technology will not deliver all that it promises even if all infrastructure changes are made. No matter what the experts say, the decision to use it finally rests with the people. All that scientists, governments, …
the Balkan war in 1999 has left a deadly impact on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (nato) soldiers who were deployed in the region. A 14-member team of United Nations Environment Programme found evidence of radioactivity in eight of the eleven sites in Kosovo that was struck with depleted uranium (du) …
In people suffering a common form of leukaemia, certain chromosome abnormalities in cancer cells could help predict how quickly the disease will progress. This is the result of a study conducted in Germany, says a Reuters report dated December 27, 2000. The cancer is known as B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia …
Ever since an increasing number of vehicles running on compressed natural gas (cng) started plying on Delhi roads, a strange whisper campaign has been blowing in the air
Malachite green, a mineral banned for human consumption, is a carcinogen. It is used extensively in India in the dyeing of cotton, wool, jute and leather, as well as an antiseptic. The Cancer Research Institute and the Tata Memorial Hospital of India have conducted experiments using malachite green that resulted …
the sea squirt, a marine animal that looks like grapes, is being cultured to provide treatment for cancer. It contains ecteinascidin-743, the compound being tested as an anticancer agent. Besides other aquatic regions, the sea squirt is also found in the Indian Ocean. Its population is too small to meet …
