Several people are suspected to have died of the little know, mysterious `Nipah virus’ in Kozhikode district of Kerala. While the government has confirmed six deaths due to this virus, many more people are believed to have died of the disease hosted in animals.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected bats, pigs, or from other NiV-infected people.
Kerala has been put on a high alert. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office tweeted that a state-wide alert has been issued and that the government has opened a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation.
There is no vaccine for the virus yet, according to WHO. The main treatment for those infected is “intensive supportive care.’’ The disease has a high mortality rate with a capability to mutate.  
In the meanwhile, the Centre has sent a team to Kerala. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P.Nadda tweeted and said that he had asked the chief of the central disease control body to visit the affected district and take steps.
Mr Nadda has assured all support to the Kerala Government and has directed a multi-disciplinary Central team to assist the State and closely monitor the situation.
“We are closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to Shri Alphons and Smt K Shailaja, Health Minister, Kerala and assured them all support of the Central government. I have also dispatched a Central team to assist the State government and initiate required steps,” the Union Health Minister said in a statement from Geneva.
On the directions of the Health Minister, Ms Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW) has also spoken to the Principal Health Secretary of Kerala and reviewed the situation.
The Central team includes Dr Sujeet K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, Dr S K Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC, Dr P Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR), Dr Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC along with two clinicians and one expert from Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
Among the confirmed deaths, two victims were brothers and the third a woman relative who had visited them in hospital, Dr Reena, Additional Director of Communicable Disease, Kerala Government told a news channel. The first death was reported on Saturday.
Several people with symptoms of Nipah virus are being monitored in a special ward in Kozhikode Medical College and three other hospitals. Their blood samples have been sent for testing. The Nipah virus of NiV infection has symptoms like difficulty in breathing, inflammation of the brain, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can slip into coma within 48 hours.
Meanwhile Mullappally Ramachandran, Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister, in a letter to the Union Health Minister said that some villages in his constituency had been affected while seeking Central Government intervention.  Doctors believe the virus spreads fast and is mostly fatal, said the parliamentarian. “The mortality rate is reportedly 70 per cent. The spread of the disease needs to be contained,” Mr Ramachandran wrote.
Nipah virus can also infect pigs and other domestic animals. The natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus
NiV was first identified during an outbreak in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia in 1998. In 2004, many were infected in Bangladesh after consuming date palm sap contaminated by infected fruit bats. In India, it was first reported in 2001.

Noida: Taking inspiration from age old traditional finishing schools of Switzerland, Amity University has launched “Amity Finishing School”. Amity Finishing School, a first-of-its-kind in India, will have personality transformation residential programs for both men and women.

“We have started Amity Finishing School after analyzing the need of current times. The emphasis is on overall transformation of an individual for which modules are built around personality enhancement, attitude building, physical health, mental health, defining career and training on day to day skills,” said Jaishree Chauhan, Vice-Chairperson, Amity Finishing School.

“In today’s world of globalisation, international etiquette translates to better business opportunities and is a necessity for everyone. Plenty of people have degrees but very few people have the extra edge and confidence that we can equip them with at Amity Finishing School,” said Mrs. Chauhan.

“We have taken inspiration from the Swiss Finishing Schools and imbibed the Amity’s ideals of Indian values and cultural excellence in launching the Amity Finishing School that meet the needs of todays’ time where men as well as women need grooming and training into deportment and social graces,” said Mrs. Chauhan. 

At Amity Finishing School, the curriculum involves working with the students over a period of time to ensure that they are ready to face the challenges of personal and professional lives with equal ease. As every individual is different so are his/her needs , therefore, different program levels have been designed to groom them based on their requirements. 

[Directed: Biren Naug/ Produced & Music: Hemanta Mukherjee/ Screenplay: Dhruva Chatterjee/ Cinematography:Marshal Braganza/ Lyrics:Shakeel Badayuni & Kaifi Azmi/ Editing: Keshav Nanda/Audiography: S. Y. Pathak/Art Direction: G. L. Jadhav/  Playback: Lata Mangeshkar & Hemanta Mukherjee/Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Biswajeet, Manmohan Krishna, Madan Puri, Sajjan & Asit Sen ]

Three outstanding Hindi films in the annals of Bollywood where the ‘ghost’ that provided chills and spills on the screen was not in reality a ghost were- Kamal Amrohi’s reincarnation thriller Mahal (1949), Hemanta Mukherjee’s Bees Saal Baad (1962) and Woh Kaun Thi (1964) directed by Raj Khosla. These films were shot in stunning black-and-white and icing on the cake was that all three films had the most sublime musical scores we have ever heard.

Bees saal baad (1962) was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s third novel The Hound of the Baskervilles and to an extent on Hemendra Kumar Roy‘s novel Nishithini Bivishika. Bees Saal Baad remains the all time benchmark in the horror or thriller genre in Indian cinema. Mahal had pioneered the first experiment in this territory and had been the 10th biggest film of the 40s, earning what would be nearly 43 crores at present rate of inflation but that kind of numbers were only bettered by Bees Saal Baad nearly a decade later, the 33rd biggest hit of the 60s, making 63 crores at the present inflation rate. The film was a joint labour of love of an unusual combo, art director tuned director Biren Naug decided to experiment with what was a neglected genre on his debut encouraged by Hemant Kumar the music composer turned producer. 

Bees Saal Baad became the highest box office grosser in 1962, and till this day fifty six years later its unique record as the only film of horror or thriller genre topping the yearly box-office chart remains unbroken! The movie was remade in 1988 with Mithun Chakraborty, Dimple Kapadia and Meenakshi Sheshadri but it was dud compared to the original thriller.

The film had the song Kahin deep jale kahin dil as the leitmotif ghost song just like the song, Aayega aane wala in the film Mahal  and was the highlight of this film. This song accentuated the tension in the screenplay and amplified the suspense in a film that is beautifully shot with great light work, silhouettes and shadow play. 

Kahin deep jale kahin dil also remains a milestone in Lata’s career, both historically and reminiscently because she fell ill in 1962 to the extent that it was thought she would never be able to croon again. According to Lata Mangeshkar the servant in their house who cooked the food was responsible for administering a slow poison, diagnosed by her family doctor when the singer started spewing greenish vomit. Lata Mangeshkar was bed-ridden for three months and during this period Majrooh Sultanpuri was one of her nurses who would come at six in the evening and sit by her side every day for three long months, reciting poetry and reading stories. The first song Lata Mangeshkar recorded post recuperation was 

Kahin deep jale kahin dil, at a spooky set in Filmistan Studio.

Biren Naug (1922-64) was an acclaimed art director who had worked with the Anands in films like Nau Do Gyarah, Kala Pani, and Kala Bazaar and with Guru Dutt in films like C.I.D, Pyaasa and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. It was for his work in Chaudhvin Ka Chand, that Naug received the Filmfare award for the Best Art Director. The editing by Keshav Nanda and sound effects by S.Y. Pathak went on to win Filmfare awards. 

Lata and lyricist Shakeel Badayuni won the Filmfare award for the song Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil, which also raced to number six spot on the 1962 annual list of Binaca Geetmala. The zesty BeqararKarke hamein yunh na jaiye (picturised near Sholapur) and the impish Zara nazron se kehdo ji sung by Hemant da made it to number twenty seven on the 1962 annual list of Binaca Geetmala.

The film garnered further three more Filmfare Nominations for Best Film, Best Director (Biren Nag) and Best Music Director Â– (Hemant Kumar), thus winning four filmfare trophies out of the seven nominations, compared to Guru Dutt’s Sahib Biwi Aur Gulam which bagged four trophies out of eight nominations that year at 10th Filmfare awards. 

Biswajeet, who made his debut with the film, has always maintained that he was grateful to co-star Waheeda Rahman (who along with Meena Kumari was a part of Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, the most talked about film of its time) for having agreed to work with a newcomer like him from Bengal. Biswajeet had to contend on many occasions with snakes brought on the set by art director G. L. Jadhav in a bid to make the surroundings look authentic!

Uttam Kumar was original choice as the male lead for Bees Saal Baad but his hectic schedule had the producer Hemanta Mukherjee opting for Biswajeet as the hero of the Hindi version of the Bengali super hit suspense thriller, Jighangsha (1951). Biren Naug according to Biswajeet took great pains about his Bangla tinged Hindi and underwent rehearsals with his Hindi dialogue delivery. Though he was the male lead but Waheeda Rehman was a bigger star than him and to his mortification during the shooting of the song sequence, Beqarar kar ke humein, Biren Naug instructed him not only to touch Waheeda Rehman but exude romance with his looks and smile! 

Hemanta Mukherjee, Biren Naug and Biswajeet came back for the second time for their next collaboration Kohra, a remake of Rebecca (1940) which despite grandiloquent sets and mesmerizing music flopped. Biren Naug succumbed to a massive cardiac attack shortly after. 

Bees Saal Baad established Biswajeet as the ‘suspense hero from Bengal and in itself triggered off the trend for suspense thrillers in the’60s with classics like Gumnaam, Mera Saya, Anita, Woh Kaun Thi, Teesri Manzil and Jaal following in line. It was for his Bollywood debut in this film that Biswajeet refused to be Bhootnath in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam!

A new WHO report has shown that the world’s poorest countries can gain US$350 billion by 2030 by scaling up investments in preventing and treating chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, that cost an additional US$1.27 per person annually. Such actions would save more than 8 million lives over the same period.

 
The report, titled Saving lives, spending less: a strategic response to NCDs, reveals, for the first time, the financing needs and returns on investment of WHO’s cost-effective and feasible “best buy” policies to protect people from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the world’s leading causes of ill health and death.
 
It shows that for every US$1 invested in scaling up actions to address NCDs in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs), there will be a return to society of at least US$7 in increased employment, productivity and longer life.
 
“The overarching message of this powerful new WHO report is optimistic,” says WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Tackling NCDs is an opportunity to improve health and economies.”
 
If all countries use these interventions, the world would move significantly closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature death from NCDs by one-third by 2030, a statement issued by WHO has said.

Among the most cost-effective “best buy” interventions are increasing taxes on tobacco and alcohol, reducing salt intake through the reformulation of food products, administering drug therapy and counselling for people who have had a heart attack or stroke, vaccinating girls aged 9-13 years against human papillomavirus and screening women aged 30-49 years for cervical cancer.
 
“NCDs impose huge economic costs that fall heaviest on the low- and middle-income countries that can least afford them. This report makes the case for bold action against NCDs from a business perspective, and it outlines some of the most effective ways to reduce their toll, which can help to direct more resources to where they are needed most,” says WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases Michael R. Bloomberg.
 
Low and Lower Middle Income Countries currently bear the brunt of premature deaths from NCDs: almost half (7.2 million) of the 15 million people who die globally every year between the age of 30 and 70 are from the world’s poorest countries. Yet global financing for NCDs is severely limited, receiving less than 2% of all health funding.
 
But the report indicates that taking effective measures to prevent and control NCDs costs just an additional US$ 1.27 per person per year in LLMICs.
 
The health gains from this investment will, in turn, generate US$350 billion through averted health costs and increased productivity by 2030, and save 8.2 million lives during the same period.
 

For every US$1 invested in each policy area, the following returns have been documented:

·  US$12.82 from promoting healthy diets

·  US$9.13 from reducing the harmful use of alcohol

·  US$7.43 from lower tobacco use

·  US$3.29 from providing drug therapy for cardiovascular disease

·  US$2.80 from increasing physical activity

·  US$2.74 from managing cancer

NCDs kill 41 million people each year, comprising 72% of all deaths globally. The number of deaths from NCDs is increasing across the world, including in LLMICs. As typically long-term conditions, NCDs are especially detrimental to families in low-resource settings, as lengthy and expensive treatment drains household resources, forces families into poverty and stifles development. Saving lives, spending less: a strategic response to NCDs issues a clear call for donors to support governments by offering funding as a catalyst for ambitiously scaling up the “best buy” policies which would save millions of lives.
 

New Delhi : Hypertension has emerged as a major health problem in India with one in four Indians suffering from it. Early detection and management of hypertension is necessary to prevent complications such as cardiovascular disease. However, it is a challenge given the shortfall of trained health workforce, particularly in rural areas.

A new study done by Indian and Australian researchers has found that training available workforce such as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) could be effective in rural areas. Researchers led by Prof Amanda Thrift from Monash University developed a training package for health workers and evaluated its effectiveness. The training module helps health workers identify and control hypertension in the community. The study measured effectiveness of the tool in terms of knowledge, skills and perception of health workers.

The study was conducted in Trivandrum in Kerala, West Godavari and Rishi Valley in Andhra Pradesh. “We selected these places based on quality of health workforce available there. Trivandrum has good healthcare facilities, while West Godavari has average and Rishi Valley has poor facilities,” Pallab Kumar Maulik, a member of the research team, said while speaking to India Science Wire.

As part of the study, 15 ASHAs attended a five-day training workshop that was delivered using interactive instructional strategies. They then led community-based education support groups for three months. Training materials incorporated details on managing hypertension, goal setting, facilitating group meetings, and measuring blood pressure and body weight. “We have introduced some very simple lifestyle interventions like how to talk with people, how to measure blood pressure, risks of hypertension, utility of measuring blood pressure etc.,” Dr Maulik said.

The training was designed to provide ASHAs with knowledge regarding hypertension and its factors, strategies to manage hypertension via knowledge about healthy lifestyle and adherence to medications, and skill in facilitation of group meetings. Health workers were also taught to deliver community group-based education, and provide support for individuals with hypertension. After the training, researchers found that ASHAs’ knowledge of hypertension improved from a mean score of 64% before training to 76% post-training and 84% after the three-month intervention.

Dr Maulik said results of the study would be shared with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). “We hope the government will further use this to improve health facilities particularly in rural areas,” he added. According to him, it was not only health workers but communities also responded positively. 

The research team included Marwa Abdel, Clara K. Chow, Pallab Kumar Maulik, Rama Guggilla, Rohina Joshi (George institute, Australia and India); Amanda Gay Thrift, Michaela Riddell, Oduru Suresh, Roger George Evans (Monash University); Ajay Mahal, Brian Oldenburg (University of Melbourne); Kavumpurathu Raman Thankappan, Gomathyamma Krishnakurup Mini (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology); Kartik Kalyanram and Kamakshi Kartik (Rishi Valley Rural Health Centre) and Nihal Thomas (Christian Medical College, Vellore). The study has been published in journal BMC Health Services Research. (India Science Wire)

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked the security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan which begins on Thursday. 

The decision was taken to help the peace loving Muslims observe Ramzan when devout Muslims observe fast during the month in a peaceful environment. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has already informed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of the Centre’s decision.

However, Security Forces will reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people.

“Government expects everyone to cooperate in this initiative and help the Muslim brothers & sisters to observe Ramzan peacefully and without any difficulties. It is important to isolate the forces that bring a bad name to Islam by resorting to mindless violence and terror,” a Home Ministry release said here on Wednesday. 

Mumbai: To overcome problems of access, Availability, affordability, and accountability in Healthcare Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated Shushrusha’s Suman Ramesh Tulsiani Hospital (SSRTH) a 140-bedded super specialty hospital at Kannamwar Nagar-1, Vikhroli. Shri. Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri. Prakash Mehta, State Cabinet Minister for Housing Department, and Shri. Subash Deshmukh, Minister of co-operation were also present.

Shushrusha’s Suman Ramesh Tulsiani Hospital (SSRTH), situated along with the eastern express highway at Vikhroli, is 6 storey facility. Hospital has carpet area about one lac sq.Ft. Hospital has 140 bed capacity, which is classified into EMS, Day care, General ward, maternity ward with labour room and separate operation theatre, Twin sharing, Single occupancy, ICUs and NICU beds. Facility has well equipped Operation theatre complex of 3 modular OTs, Modular procedure room attached to EMS and OPD,  CSSD, 24 bedded ICU, 6 bedded NICU and 8 bedded PICU. 

Speaking at the inauguration function founder Dr. Nand Kishore S Laud, Chairman and Consultant Orth. Surgeon, Shushrusha Citizen’s Co-operative Hospital, Ltd said “We would harness the latest technology with a dedicated team of doctors to offer the best care to patients. Offers cutting edge technology in a transparent & ethical manner is a key priority. All services will be given as a cost effective manner for patient benefit. This institution is run by the people for the people.”

How The co-op setup work:

People contribute equity to become shareholders, and in return, shareholders and their families get concessions on consultation, and procedures. Healthcare is offered to other patients at affordable rates.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis appreciated the efforts of Shushrusha board and complimented them for their good work. He made a specific mention that the chief minster laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the hospital. He supported the concept of Co-operative Hospital and mentioned that the government could do whatever it can to help such kind of initiative.

Governor of Uttar Pradesh Shri. Ram Naik, expressed his long association with hospital and said it is one the best hospital not only in India but all over world. Also he Gave blessing for future journery of Shushrusha Hospitals.

Umesh Prasad, an Indian origin doctor, settled in the United Kingdom, has launched two new monthly academic research journals — ”European Journal of Sciences (EJS)” & ”European Journal of Social Sciences (EJSS).’’

Dr Prasad has already launched ” Scientific European’’® (a science magazine) early this year, according to a UK Education Consultancy Services Ltd announcement.   

While the magazine Scientific European® is geared towards general audience who are interested in science and technology to make them aware of advances in the scientific fields, the new journals European Journal of Sciences (EJS)® & European Journal of Social Sciences (EJSS)® will disseminate primary research to academic and scientific community after evaluation by the peers, the announcement said.

European Journal of Sciences (EJS)® [ISSN 2516-8169 (Online)|ISSN 2516-8150 (Print)] aims to report original scientific research of significance to the scientific community through proper evaluation of the findings. This covers all areas of sciences including but not limited to physical sciences, biological sciences, chemical sciences, mathematical sciences, computer sciences, engineering sciences, environmental sciences and earth sciences.

European Journal of Social Sciences (EJSS)® [ISSN 2516-8525 (Print)|ISSN 2516-8533 (online)] aims to report original academic research of significance in the area of social sciences to the academic community through proper evaluation of the results or findings by the peers. This covers all areas of social sciences including but not limited to anthropology, archaeology, behavioural sciences, criminology, cultural studies, demography, developmental studies, economics, education, gender studies, geography, gerontology, history, international studies, linguistics, media studies, philosophy, political sciences, psychology, public administration, rural and urban studies, social work, sociology and sustainability studies.

Both the journals are ‘’Open Access’’, available in both online and print formats and are published on a monthly basis.

Umesh Prasad, the founder editor, said: ‘’We value inclusive dissemination. We wish to enhance access to systems and processes of sharing of new knowledge acquired through primary scientific research. We think there is a genuine need for more specific journals dedicated to the scientific community where researchers can publish up-to-date, high-quality and original research papers along with relevant and insightful reviews about their cutting-edge works. Hence, here we are with the premiere issues of European Journal of Sciences (EJS) and European Journal of Social Sciences (EJSS)! Hope these journals provide a vibrant, engaging, integrative and collaborative platform for the researchers to present their works after rigorous and fair peer review process’’.

Karnataka assembly election results 2018: Former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa led BJP ousted the Siddaramaiah led Congress and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda led JD (S) in the 2018 state assembly polls. Polling was held in 222 constituencies of the 224-member Assembly as elections in two constituencies, Jayanagara and Rajrajeshwari were countermanded.

Congress has announced that it will support the JD(S) and according to media reports, it is also ready to offer the chief minister’s post to seal the post-poll alliance. Outgoing Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah and senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad made it clear that this move has sanction from the high command.

This little detail is all important because in case there was a “pre-poll alliance”, the governor would have been duty-bound to call the alliance partners to prove majority. However, since there was no such alliance when all parties went to the polls, the governor is duty-bound to call the single-largest party (SLP) for staking claim to form a government, and in this case, it is the BJP.

Therefore, going by the book, the BJP, if it manages to emerge as the SLP, it will have the right to be called first, and from that point, it will be a game of numbers because the BJP will try to factionalise the Congress and JD(S) MLAs and the alliance partners will try to keep their flock together. Get ready for resort politics.

After the dramatic development of the Congress and the JD(S) coming together, BJP’s chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru that the party will wait for the final results to be declared.

Meanwhile, Union Ministers J.P. Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan and Prakash Javadekar are heading to Bengaluru today.

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala has put all requests on hold and will not be meeting either JDS-Congress or the BJP till all the results are declared. 

As per the latest trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 104 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 77 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) is at third place with 39 seats. The counting of votes for 222 of the 224 Assembly seats is being carried out across at 58,546 polling stations at nearly 38 counting centres.

The exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka just like the opinion polls did. However, exit polls are divided on whether the Congress or the BJP will emerge as the single largest party while they say that the JDS will emerge as the kingmaker. But a majority of exit polls have predicted advantage BJP, with Today’s-Chanakya Times Now predicting a clear mandate for the party. On the other hand, the India Today-Axis My India exit poll has predicted a clear victory for the Congress.

Poll pundits have called it a wave-less election in Karnataka. However, both the Congress and the BJP have claimed that they will win the election and form the government in the state on their own. The JDS, meanwhile, according to reports has backed a Dalit face for the Chief Minister’s post if it wants the Congress to ally with it in case of a hung Assembly. While the Congress has pitched for Siddaramaiah, the man who is the first to have completed 5 years as CM in Karnataka, as its CM candidate, the BJP is rooting for former CM Yeddyurappa’s return.

New Delhi: A ground breaking new study reveals the extent of daily harassment feared by girls in India in public spaces, including being subjected to lewd comments, inappropriate touching and other forms of sexual assault.

Save the Children’s new report WINGS 2018: World of India’s Girls – A study on the perception of girls’ safety in public spaces, launched today by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, reveals that 1 in 3 adolescent girls in India expect to be inappropriately touched or stalked when they venture out in public, and about one out of five feel they are at risk of being physically assaulted, including rape.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, Â“Women and girls must be at the heart of policies that guide urban development. The processes should not be prescriptive and hence it is important that from policies to its execution, it has participation of girls and women. The philosophy of new India 2022 has to be routed through the Sarvodaya and Antodaya – that means ‘the last first’. So, let us begin from the most marginalised girls and women.”

The research included surveys with more than 4,000 adolescent girls and boys in India, as well as 800 parents of adolescent girls, which was conducted across six states, 30 cities and 84 villages in 12 districts of Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Assam and Madhya Pradesh.

Endorsing the report, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women & Child Development, pointed out that Â“The rights of women and girls and their perception of safety are of utmost importance in achieving an inclusive and equitable society. The Indian government has enabled progressive laws like the POCSO Act 2012 and the Criminal Amendments Act 2013, but a part of the onus lies with families and communities towards ensuring girl’s safety. I congratulate Save the Children in bringing out this report that explores support system available to girls in case of harassment in public spaces, and analyses the effectiveness of the administrative and civil society interventions and services in place to address the issue.”

“These findings reveal the danger and fear faced by millions of Indian girls every day when they go outside their homes, and the harmful impact this can have on their self-confidence and ability to move around freely,” said Bidisha Pillai, CEO, Save the Children in India. “This harmful phenomenon is also putting girls’ futures at risk, encouraging child marriage and making it more difficult to get an education, pursue meaningful employment and engage with the world.”

“All children have a right to feel safe and protected when they are in a public space, and if this right is violated, they should be able to have confidence that law enforcement authorities will take them seriously and properly investigate their claims,” she added.

The report alsorecognizes a number of significant initiatives of the government and civil society to address the issue, including funding for the Nirbhaya Fund, which aims to make public spaces safer for girls and women. But Pillai says far more must be done, pointing out that many incidents of harassment and abuse go unreported every day.

The report also found that:

·         More than two-thirds of adolescent girls from urban and rural areas said they would confide in their mothers when they face harassment in a public space

·         Nearly two out of five said that if their parents found out about an incident of harassment in a public space, they would restrict their movement outside of home

Emphasizing on the need for a safer environment for girls, actor Richa Chadda added, Â“Safety for girls can be ensured if existing laws are strictly enforced but most importantly if boys are raised differently.”

WINGS 2018, which shines a spotlight on the issue while gaining greater understanding of the factors that make girls feel unsafe, makes recommendations to improve public safety for girls based on comments they made during the research.

These measures include improved policing, with greater representation of women in the police force, the installation of improved lighting in public spaces, greater development of community support mechanisms like self-help groups, children’s groups and mothers’ groups, mandatory gender training for all public transport drivers including Uber and Ola, and greater resourcing at a political level for girls’ safety.

Pillai emphasized that it’s everyone’s responsibility to make the country safe for girls. “We need to stand together – policy makers, administrators, law enforcement agencies, civil society and members of the public – not only to provide short-term solutions to address public safety, but simultaneously challenge deeply-embedded gender norms that deny girls of their basic rights.”