NEW DELHI:  A survey of young adolescents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has indicated that close to 2.4 million adolescents in these two States inflicted self-harm, 1.9 million showed symptoms of depression and 0.4 million had even considered suicide though many had worrying mental health condition.
The survey on `Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) done by The Population Council on young adolescents (10-14 years) in Uttar Pradesh (1,961 boys and girls) and Bihar (1,776 boys and girls) suggests that only 1% of boys and girls knew about Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram, only one-third of the girls knew about sanitary napkins programme though only 10% received benefits. Only 22-24 % of boys and girls received health services/information at school but almost all knew about anganwadi worker and 56-66% knew about ASHA. Only 4-7% of boys and girls received health services provided by ASHA and anganwadi.
Most girls reported using pieces of cloth during menstruation, while half of those who did not use sanitary napkins could not afford and a quarter was not aware of sanitary napkins.
A significant minority reported sexual and reproductive health problems with more boys than girls reporting a problem – one in 6 vs one in 10. Boys are three times likely compared to girls to seek treatment with private facility being the preferred choice for seeking treatment.
The burden of nutrition is heavy in these two States with about 6.6 and 12.0 million very young boys and girls being anemic and 1.2 million and 2.8 million being severely anemic respectively in these two States.
Injury was reported by a large number of early adolescents – one-third boys and one-fifth girls. Half of the boys and slightly less proportion of girls were beaten by their parents. Similar proportion was involved in physical fight with another boy/girl. Substance use was high among boys than girls.
Meanwhile, with a view to strengthen adolescent health in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is all set to bring about changes in its ambitious Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) to focus on anemia control and prevention of diseases.
These decisions were taken following a review of the RKSK programme which showed that the anemia prevention strategy had not shown much success with the burden of anemia being very high across the country. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry decided to launch an intensive demand generation campaign to create awareness among people on anemia, particularly the adolescents. 
Speaking on the sidelines of the third day of the 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health being organized by the International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH) here, Dr Ajay Khera, Deputy Commissioner (Adolescent Health), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said one reason identified for less-than expected outcome of the anemia strategy was that this programme was not being monitored,’’ he said.
The Ministry will now monitor its Weekly Iron Folic Supplementation (WIFS) programme on IT-platforms to see how successful it was. Importantly, the Ministry will soon launch a big demand generation programme to help create awareness among the people which not only adversely impacts their physical growth but their cognitive growth as well.
Also, the focus of the Intensified School Health Activity (ISHA) under the RKSK programme will now be on prevention and promotion rather than clinical treatment at present. These decisions were taken during a review meeting on RKSK, where it was decided that schools should be made the platforms for implementing adolescent health programmes since 60% of the adolescents in the country were now in schools and the percentage was increasing, Dr Khera said.
The RKSK is implemented at the facility, school and community level. At the facility level, Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), Resource Centres at the district levels and Adolescent Health Counselors at the Block level are the core components.At the school level, Intensified School Health Programme (ISHA), WIFS, health screening and menstrual hygiene are focused while Peer Education Programme, Adolescent Health Days, Adolescent Friendly Clubs and WIFS and MHS (for out of school beneficiaries) are being implemented.   

NEW DELHI: In a landmark move to operationalise the strategically important Chabahar port, India on Sunday sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through this route which bypasses Pakistan. 
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj flagged off the consignment from the Kandla port in Gujarat. Her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani joined through video conferencing.
“The shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan,” External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. 
Three months ago India and Afghanistan had started an air freight corridor to promote  trade as Pakistan had refused land transit access. .
“I am extremely delighted that today we have joined on a momentous occasion for the people of our three countries and the region,” Ms. Swaraj said. She described the move as an important step in realising the shared aspiration to carve out “new routes” of peace and prosperity. The consignment will be transported to Afghanistan from Chabahar through land route.
She reaffirmed India’s commitment to support reconstruction, capacity building and socio-economic development of Afghanistan, including under the framework of the New Development Partnership which was announced last month.
“The wheat that is leaving the Indian shores today, is a gift from the people of India to our Afghan brethren. It is testament to the continued commitment of the government and the people of India to support our Afghan brethren in building a normal, peaceful, prosperous, secure and bright future for themselves,” she said.
The Chabahar port in Iran is likely to throw open new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between the three countries as well as benefit the region. 
“The people of India, Afghanistan and Iran have been connected through centuries; shared commonalities of art and culture, ideas and knowledge; language and traditions. Today, we are rejuvenating these connects and commonalities. I believe that this is the starting point of our journey to realise the full spectrum of connectivity,” Ms. Swaraj said.
The two Foreign Ministers welcomed the fact that this is the first shipment that would be going to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port after trilateral agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May last year, External Affairs Ministry said. .
At least six more wheat shipments will be sent to Afghanistan over the next few months, it said. After the Modi government took over, the progress of the work on the Chabahar port was reviewed with the Iranian government and it was speeded up. Both the countries have committed themselves towards early completion of the project. 

New Delhi : Stroke is considered rare among the paediatric age group, it is common in children below three. The possible reason for the low reported incidence is difficult diagnosis or missed diagnosis of the condition in young age group.  A unique reason for children suffering from stroke is trauma or injury caused by, say, a fall. Reported incidence of paediatric stroke ranges from 1.2 to 13 cases per 100,000 children under 18 years of age. Children usually recover better from strokes than adults do because the human body is still in developing stages. However, children can experience permanent complications from stroke, such as seizures, weakness, and vision problems.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) stroke is caused by the interruption of blood supply to the brain. This usually occurs because a blood vessel bursts or is blocked by a clot, as this cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients, causing damage to the brain tissue. The two main types of stroke are ischemic (due to lack of blood flow) and hemorrhagic (due to bleeding). Both lead to impaired functioning of the affected area of the brain i.e a stroke.  

The first four hours, considered ‘golden’ for best treatment outcome, of suffering a stroke. As an example, we cite the story of Bhopal residents, Yasha Dave and Amit Dave who had a normal child, Purvasha Dave, with no history of distress before, during or after birth. However, they started noticing delayed milestones in Purvasha after the 3rd month along with recurring fever. They consulted many doctors and Purvasha underwent a battery of tests, however she was never diagnosed with any abnormality. At 11 months of age she suddenly fell down and suffered a stroke. She was diagnosed with cerebral infarct, which means that there was a clot in her brain that led to left sided paralysis. 

Although routine physiotherapy helped improve her muscle function; two months prior to her 2nd birthday, Purvasha sustained yet another fall from her bed and fell on her head. This time she was completely bed ridden and was hospitalized immediately. She has been on regular physiotherapy for 3 hours every day ever since. Some improvement was noticed in her overall condition, however, Purvasha failed to recover completely.

Initially grasping objects was possible only with her right hand, though her grasp was not strong. Mild intellectual disability was noticed. Slow learning and similar writing speed was observed. Muscle wasting was noticed in lower limbs making it difficult for her to stand as she would lose balance. Purvasha also found it difficult to sit for long periods of time.

Purvasha’s parents searched on the internet for newer treatments and came across Dr. Mahajan’s work on neurological conditions. After consultation, they decided to go ahead with cell based therapy for Purvasha and she underwent 2 sessions over a period of 20 days. Purvasha is also under intensive rehabilitation programme comprising of physiotherapy and allied therapeutic modalities.

Post therapy Purvasha is now able to stand with support of splint without buckling of knees. Improvement in hand grasp is noticed. She is now able to speak 5-6 sentences clearly at a time and does not stammer much. Reduced spasticity and improved muscle strength is also noticed.

Cell based therapy has been shown to reduce the size of infarcts and improve functional outcomes in victims with cerebral infarcts. “New treatment strategies focus on neurodegenerative approaches, among which the application of progenitor cells from bone marrow/adipose tissue has gained increasing attention. These cells have the capacity of self-renewal giving rise to differentiated cells from various lineages. Recovery after cellular therapy occurs through angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity,” said Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative medicine Researcher.

NEW DELHI: The battle lines have been drawn clearly and decisively. The elections to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly are being termed as prestigious for both BJP and Congress and they are leaving no stone unturned to make it a war of nerves. 

While opinion polls giving a clear edge to BJP in wresting power in the Congress ruled state, the Congress party campaign, mainly led by Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, is not giving up so easily and it plans to take the fight till the end. In fact, with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is leading the BJP campaign in the state but the Congress party is still to decide about is star campaigners. However, the contest in the state is being a direct fight between a beleaguered Chief Minister, who is facing corruption charges and the Prime Minister. Mr. Modi has already hinted that focus of his campaign would be corruption charges against the Chief Minister and his family members.

The BJP is all set to unleash its high-powered campaign under Mr. Modi and has decided to field Union Minister, Raj Nath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Smriti Irani, Uma Bharti, Vijay Sampla and V.K. Singh as main speakers for the November 9 polls.  Prominent local leaders are former Chief Ministers, Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, Hamirpur MP, Anurag Thakur, national BJP spokesperson, Sambit Patra who will descend on the state.

Sources in the BJP said that Prime Minister would hold four rallies in all the four parliamentary constituencies of the State in support of the party candidates. Mr. Modi’s schedule is being worked out along with that of party president, Mr. Amit Shah who will undertake an extensive tour of the state. One of the reasons being cited for Mr. Modi to address a rally at Shimla is that Mr. Virbhdara Singh’s son, Vikramaditya Singh is contesting from Shimla rural constituency, which was earlier represented in the assembly by his father who has now shifted to Arki assembly segment.

BJP chief ministers led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana, Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Raman Singh Chhattisgarh are among those who are expected to campaign in the state.

For the Congress, the main campaigner is Mr Singh himself who is leading from the front. Mr. Singh is also the chairman of the campaign committee of the party and is at loggerheads with the State Congress president, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh who is now contesting from Nadaun Assembly constituency. Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi during his October 7 rally at Mandi, had announced that Mr. Singh will be the Chief Minister of the State if Congress comes back to power.

However, BJP has refused to be drawn into the controversy of the Chief Minister candidate and has decided to go into the polls without a Chief Minister face. Although, Mr. Dhumal is contesting from Sujanpur assembly segment, the party has refused to back him or name him as the Chief Minister candidate raising speculation about the race being open. The other important contender for the post is Union Health Minister, J. P Nadda who has maintained a low profile and is quietly campaigning in the state.

The Congress has already suffered a setback as the nomination papers of its senior leader and Minister in the Virbhadra Singh Government, Vidya Stokes have been rejected from the Theog assembly segment showing the party in poor light. The party has also faced rebellion within the ranks as Mr. Singh’s loyalist, Harish Janartha, who was denied the party ticket from Shimla constituency, deciding to contest independently.

The BJP is no less impacted by the infighting. Party leaders including Mr. Shanta Kumar and Mr. Nadda have joined hands against Mr. Dhumal and have managed to get their loyalists party tickets. Despite repeated pleas by the party workers and leaders at the local level to declare a Chief Minister face, the BJP high command has refused to give in. In fact, this time it is very clear in the BJP campaign that there are only two leaders who matter – Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah.

Rajasthan Ordinance seeks to shield the corrupt, threatens  media and whistle blowers. Demand to roll back the Rajasthan Ordinance and its unacceptable gag order.  

Instead of enacting laws for the welfare of the people, the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan promulgated an Ordinance seeking to muzzle the media and shield judges and government servants from investigation into any wrong doing. 

With the central leadership of the BJP taking exception to it amid intense criticism from various quarters, the bizarre measure has fallen by the wayside. It was in violation of Constitutional provisions upholding press freedom. 

The proposed gag legislation — The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2017 — was tabled in the state assembly last Monday. Under pressure from the Centre, the Raje government had no option but to send it to the Select Committee in a jiffy in a bid to end the controversy. 

The immediate repercussions of the measure targeting the Fourth Estate while seeking to protect politicians and civil servants would have had its inevitable repercussions in Himachal Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat where assembly elections are scheduled for next month. 

The Lotus party brass maintained putting curbs on the media is not constitutionally sustainable as the Raje government in Jaipur had far exceeded the reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution. The Ordinance promulgated on the seventh of September  sought to impose prior restraint on the investigation of the state’s judicial and government officials along with barring their identification in brazen contravention of the  freedom of the press. 

The curbs encompass not only corruption charges but the whole gamut of crime. The danger of such a measure providing insulation from law can result in impunity. Expectedly the Ordinance has been challenged in the High Court.   

The Rajasthan Government’s attempt at tweaking laws is an unabashed attempt in partially rolling back the hard won fight for the ‘Right to Information’ about public servants. The proposed Bill seeks to amend two sections of the CrPC as it applies to Rajasthan. 

The role of a democratic state is not merely limited to sustaining law and order. Without a minimum of social security, citizens will not be able to participate in social and political processes in an independent manner. Having adopted a mix of liberalism and pluralism, it is incumbent on the state to guard the rights of deprived groups. 

Under the proposed changes no magistrate can order an investigation nor can it be carried out against any current or former public servant without the sanction of  the government. More over anyone who writes about or reveals the identity of a person for whose prosecution permission has been sought will be fined and jailed. Also no magistrate can order an investigation into the misconduct of any kind by a public servant. 

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had twice struck down the blanket requirement of prior approval from the government for moving against officials above the rank of joint secretary. Three years back the Apex court had observed that seniority of rank should not be the reason for differential treatment of civil servants. 

The Ordinance violates all norms of democracy and public accountability. That a BJP government should even attempt bringing such a regressive law has dangerous portends leading to a democratic backlash. Political parties, the media, intellectuals and others are categoric that the Rajasthan government’s gag order is unacceptable and must be rolled back. 

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

New Delhi : Home to 253 million adolescents at present, India is expected to have 297 million adolescents by 2050 presenting an opportunity to reap the benefits of demographic dividend. However, nutritional deficiencies and injuries, including self-harm are emerging as major challenges, as are mental and substance abuse.

While there has been a 50% decline in early marriages and teenage pregnancies, more than 26% girls are still married before 18-years of age and teenage pregnancy continues to be 7.9% with a high unmet need for contraception among married adolescents. One-third of young women experience physical/emotional/social violence and 20% experience mental health problems. Over 12% tobacco users in the country are in the age group 15-24 years and one-fourth in this age group use alcohol. 

Additionally there are more issues associated with adolescents. Inadequate data on adolescent behavior and health risk particularly for young adolescents, lack of perceived benefit of adolescent health among programme implementers, says Mr Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

Adolescent health has linkages with various sectors and multi-sector actions are required to achieve desired outcomes.

From a one-day orientation programme for teachers at district levels under the 8^th Five-Year-Plan in 1992-1997, to the ambitious Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) which is being implemented currently, India has achieved many milestones in adolescent health. 

The RKSK was launched in 2014 to address the health and development needs of the adolescents in India. Based on continuum of care for adolescent health and development needs through the three-tier public health system with a multi-component intervention targeting both determinants of health problems and their consequences, RKSK adopts a facility-based approach, school-based approach and community-based approach for expected outcomes by including immunization and iron –folic acid tablets programmes to improve health and deal with anemia.  

India now has more than 7,000 Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics with a case load of 73 people each month, 11.2 crore children have been administered Weekly Iron-Folic Acids tablets and 22205 Health Days held so far. The Menstrual Hygiene Scheme has been launched across the districts. Under the Peer Education Programme 1.96 lakh Peer educators have already been selected of which 28% have been trained. 

Pointing out that investing in adolescent health would pay dividends, Dr Sunil Mehra, Executive Director Mamta—Health Institute for Mother and Child said there is a need to enhance core competencies in health care functionaries to deliver on adolescent health (both in clinical and public health) in addition to increased financial and human resource allocation to adolescent health.

“We need age (and sex) disaggregated data and rigorous and transparent evaluations of our adolescent programmes. It is important to intervene early and continue with age-specific programming and importantly it is time to question ourselves that “are we reaching high risk adolescents through our existing programming,” Dr Mehra said.

On the National Health Policy released earlier this year, Dr Mehra said it envisages engagement of private sector for creating awareness about adolescent health, commitment to pre-emptive care to achieve optimum levels of adolescent health and making school health programmes as a major focus area as well as making health and hygiene as part of the school curriculum targeting adolescents. 

An investigation of dairies across 10 States has revealed the `ugly truth’ behind the “White Revolution” of India, where dairy cattle, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, get little access to soft ground, spend their lives in cramped, poorly ventilated and dark enclosures.
 Moreover, many dairies were found to have ill, injured and distressed cattle. Poor veterinary care and illegal use of drugs and hormones like oxytocin to increase the milk let-down are prevalent, the investigation report `Cattle-logue—Unveiling the Truth of the Indian Dairy Industry’ by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO) has found.
 Multiple wounds were also observed making it evident the inhumane treatment meted out to the cattle as a result of the rising demand for milk and milk products. This situation persists mainly because all these methods are considered “normal” and best practice in terms of economic gain and cost cutting for profits, by the dairy industry. The report calls for urgent and strict implementation of the existing laws of animal welfare as well as urban governance. It also highlights the need for additional regulation in select areas where there are significant violations of acceptable conditions for dairy animals.
The report is part of `End Intensive Dairies’ one of FIAPO’s chief campaigns to improve the conditions of animals used for milking in India. With the country becoming the leading milk and beef producer and holding the largest dairy herd in the world, the campaign is focused on regulating animal food industries that practice institutionalised cruelty.
This report is based on an investigation in 10 states and is aimed at bringing to light the condition of cattle used for the production of milk in India. The investigation recorded evidence of particularly cruel conditions prevalent in urban dairies where cattle are kept for milking purposes and violation of various animal protection and municipal laws occur routinely. Apart from this, data on the registration of dairy premises, number of animals, welfare provisions, and management regime was also collected with an aim of bringing legislative reform for the welfare of dairy cattle.
The ‘White Revolution’ in India was brought by the launch of “Operation Flood” in 1975, under which the milk production in the country increased from 22 million tonnes in 1970 to 104 million tonnes in 2008. Currently, India is the largest producer of milk in the world, accounting for 18.5 % of world production, achieving an annual output of 146.3 million tonnes during 2014-15 as compared to 137.7 million tonnes during 2013-14 recording a growth of 6.3 %.
This massive increase in production capacity of the country has been made possible by introduction of Jersey, Cross breeds and Holstein Friesian variety of cattle that have been genetically selected to produce unnatural average output of 20 liters per milking per day per animal! In order to meet the high milk production targets, these animals are over-exploited thereby, resulting in cruel dairy practices. Such practices also reduce the average lifespan of dairy cattle and increases the risk of reproductive diseases and udder infections. 
The life of a dairy cow lasts for an average of 10 years in a dairy establishment as compared to 25 naturally!
The total milk production of India in the financial year of 2014- 15 was at an approximate value of 140 million tonnes. Of this, the states we conducted our investigation in, Uttar Pradesh is the highest producer contributing 17.6% (23.33 million tonnes annually), followed by Rajasthan (10.5%), Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana)(9.6%), Gujarat (7.7%), Punjab (7.3%), Madhya Pradesh (6.6%), 2 3 Maharashtra (6.5%), Haryana (5.03%), Tamil Nadu (5%) and NCT of Delhi (2%).
Poor Infrastructure was one of the most glaring thing revealed during investigation with 25.1% dairies having no arrangements for shelter and had housing in the form of thatch roof sheds, and road-side areas.
 Hard floors cause injuries and bruises to cattle as they slip on such surfaces in their own excreta with 78.8%dairies not having access to soft ground, the report said.
As many as 32.9% dairies did not have proper lighting during the night as a result of which most of the dairies conduct the evening milking in dark enclosures.
Continuous tethering of cattle at all times was a common practice in 78.8% of the dairies; the tethers are extremely short to accommodate maximum number of cattle in a small area. This causes extreme physical distress to cattle, preventing them from being in a natural, comfortable posture, said the report.
The quality and quantity of fodder depends on the economic status of the dairy owner as 57.8% farms feed less than half of the desired minimum quantity (20 kg) their cattle per day.
The report further pointed out that in 24% dairies the calves were separated from their mothers immediately after birth. These calves are never able to have contact with their mothers.
In 25.1%dairies, male calves die within the first month. They are mainly either sold or sent for slaughter if they survive. Old, unproductive cattle also face the same fate with 62.9% dairies selling cattle to smaller farmers or slaughter houses. One of the most convenient options for the dairy farmers is also to abandon these “unwanted animals” on the streets.
As many as 57.85% dairies were found to have animals under stress or suffering from injuries or illness and 55.9%dairy owners allow use of sick animals for milking. Sale of milk directly to customers is the preferred choice of dairy owners with 69.3% over selling to dairy cooperatives and companies (23.1%). The main reason for this practice is the low cost of milk procurement by dairy cooperatives, the report said.
Injuries ranging from small bruises to tumours and fractures were noticed in 64.1%of dairies. Illegal use of Oxytocin to increase the milk let down is a common occurrence in 46.9% dairies. Dairy owners use it in excessive quantities (3 to 4 ml.). They claimed that animals have had side effects such as lowered fertility, calf deaths before parturition, calf deaths shortly after birth due to low quality and quantity of milk, dependency on the hormone to release milk and reduction in lifespan to name a few. It has not been possible to independently verify the link between oxytocin and the impacts outlined by dairy owners, the report said.
 Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, Oxytocin is a Schedule-H drug and is required to be supplied on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner only. The formulation of Oxytocin injection is required to be packed in single unit blister packed only to avoid its misuse.
Improper and irregular veterinary care Veterinary care was provided only when the animal was sick (84.3% dairy owners depend on vet- oncall services), mostly when it wasn’t able to provide milk. Vaccination schedules are not followed, which leads to outbreak of lethal diseases such a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) and Black Quarter disease. Vaccinations are mainly avoided to prevent the fall in quantity of milk due to fever induced by the injected vaccine, according to the report.
Mutilations De- horning is mainly practiced on non- native cow species with hot iron rods and chemicals and without any form of anaesthetic or pain relief. Though docked tails were noticed, owners deny conducting tail docking on their farms and claim the cattle were bought as such from the cattle market, it said.
The Registration of Cattle Premises Rules, 1978 requires registration of dairies in cities or towns which have a population exceeding one lakh. This rule is followed almost nowhere. Only 14.3% dairies were registered under the respective Municipal Corporations or the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot afford to lose the assembly election in his home state of Gujarat amounting to a huge loss of face. The outcome in this state cannot be undermined as it could have a bearing on other assembly elections slated for next year followed by the general elections in 2019. 
At the same time the Congress is gearing up its loins to give the Lotus party a tough fight in Gujarat where it has been out of power for more than two decades. The party organisation is in a shambles lacking a mass leader capable of turning their electoral fortunes.
The BJP has a definite edge in the two phase elections in Gujarat on December 9 and 14 announced by the Chief Election Commissioner two days back on Wednesday. Modi is not campaigning as the incumbent chief minister but as the Head of Government at the Centre.  
Spearheading the BJP’s election campaign, Modi has already visited Gujarat at least three times this month making some big ticket announcements about developing the state’s coastal belt and providing the country a transport system of the 21st century. 
There have been protests by the rich Patidar community seeking quotas in jobs with counter portests by other backward classes. The Dalit movement has also strengthened in the wake of flogging and ill treatment meted out to their youth last year.
There is palpable anger in Gujarat with the influential Patels and the farmers not being favourably disposed towards the BJP this time around. The much touted GST has been playing havoc with the small and medium industries. Last November’s demonetisation led to a  cash crunch resulting in unemployment. 
As the ideologue of the BJP, the RSS expressed concern and urged the Modi government to take expeditious steps in addressing the widespread disenchantment among the people. 
An avoidable controversy had been whipped up by not announcing the election schedule simultaneously for HP and Gujarat. At least two former Chief Election Commissioners expressed consternation in the delay in announcing the Gujarat poll dates. 
The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on January 22 next year. Campaigning is already at a high pitch in the state between the BJP and the Congress. The Lotus party has been at the helm of affairs in Gandhinagar for 22 years on the trot since 1995. 
During the ongoing campaign in Gujarat, Modi emphasised that the fight is between “dynasty” and “growth”. BJP president Amit Shah has set a stiff target of 150 odd seats. This is viewed as being highly overambitious as the party has failed to cross the 127 mark so far in the 182-member assembly. 
The Congress appears to have made a positive impression on the Patels by starting the ‘Navsarjan yatra’ in Saurashtra. Heir apparent Rahul Gandhi’s foray in this region created ripples which impartial observers believe has the portends of creating problems in Modi’s backyard.  
The allegations against the business dealings of Jay Shah, son of the BJP chief Amit Shah has provided the necessary grist to the opposition. What stands out starkly is the social media campaign in Gujarati underlining that ‘development has gone awry’. 
Traders forming the core support group of the BJP are up in arms. The Patidars with a vote share of 10 per cent along with enjoying economic clout are contemplating voting against the BJP. Having come on the scene two years back demanding reservation for Patidars, Hardik Patel is keeping his cards close to his chest. 
While he is yet to turn 25 to contest elections, he is for a wider opposition grouping against the BJP.  The strategy of the Modi-Shah combine in wooing the OBCs and in  particular the more backward among them will be at play once again as it has paid rich dividends. This is so because the OBCs constitute the largest chunk of 40 per cent of Gujarat’s population.  The role of Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani and OBC’s Alpesh Thakor cannot be brushed aside. Mewani gained prominence having launched the self respect agitation in the wake of the flogging of Dalits last year. 
OBC leader Thakor joined the Congress on Monday. He is the founder of the OSS (OBC, SC and ST) Ekta Manch. Gujarat has a 14 per cent tribal population.  
The Congress is trying to forge a combine posing a challenge to the saffron brigade. It has pledged to give Rs 5000 (five thousand) to the jobless, homes to the poor and write off farm loans if voted to power. 
The question is can Modi having completed three-and-a-half years in office at the Centre apply the soothing balm even though none of the multitude of pledges made by him have materialised so far. 

New Delhi : The phenomenon of urban heat islands, in which concrete and built areas in cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas, may get accentuated with rapid urbanisation. This is the conclusion of a new study of urban areas selected for development of smart cities.

The study, which covered 89 of 100 areas selected for development of smart cities, has found that agriculture and irrigation are two dominant drivers of urban heat islands or UHI in India. In addition, significant presence of atmospheric aerosols – mainly pollutants – over urban areas can influence UHI. 

Moisture from irrigation canals and agriculture fields plays a key role in keeping rural areas surrounding cities much cooler that urban areas, resulting cities becoming heat islands. In a heat island, temperature could be 1 to 6 degrees higher than surrounding areas. Remote sensing data and climate modelling were used to evaluate UHI all over the country.

When the surrounding non-urban areas have no agriculture during summer, cities are actually relatively cooler during daytime. However, if the non-urban areas are under irrigated agriculture, cities are warmer than surroundings. This means UHI effect during day time is mainly driven by agriculture and irrigation. However, in the night-time, cities are significantly warmer than surroundings in both winter and summer seasons. Night-time urban heat is mainly driven by the amount of heat stored in buildings and other impervious surfaces.

Urban areas located in highly irrigated regions – Indo-Gangetic Plain and north-west India (Haryana and Punjab) – show UHI intensity of 3 to 5 degrees. During summer season (April and May), when air temperature is at the peak, land surface temperature becomes is higher than that of the post-monsoon season in absence of agricultural operations. Moreover, amount of moisture and vegetation in non-urban areas are also limited as crops are largely harvested by the end of March and soil moisture is depleted due to high atmospheric water demands, the study said.

“While urban areas have experienced increased number of heat waves and temperature extremes in recent past, urban heat island effect driven by rapid urbanization can further worsen extreme hot conditions in cities,” pointed out Dr Vimal Mishra, a scientist at the Water and Climate Lab of Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, which did the study. The results of the study appeared in journal Scientific Reports on Wednesday.   

The development of smart cities will result in rapid growth in urban infrastructure and population, leading to increases in UHI intensity. “Our results can provide policy insights for development of smart cities,” Mishra said. “Considering night-time heating which could be significant during heat waves, measures such as passive cooling should be used. Building materials that absorb less heat and are sustainable can reduce the amount of heating caused by stored heat.” The presence of water bodies and vegetation in cities can also help reduce additional night-time heating in urban heat islands. 

The study team included Rahul Kumar and Vimal Mishra (IIT Gandhinagar); Jonathan Buzan and Matthew Huber (Purdue University, USA); Rohini Kumar (UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany ); and Drew Shindel (Duke University, USA). (India Science Wire)

New Delhi : The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to develop around 1,900 km of roads as green-field expressways out of which 800 km will be taken up in the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I.

According to officials, certain sections of national and economic corridors have traffic exceeding 50,000 PCUs and have also developed several choke points and some stretches have been identified to be developed as green-field expressways.

The green-field expressways will enable high speed and seamless freight and passenger movement.

On Tuesday the Cabinet gave approval to the programme in which a total of around 24,800 km is being considered with an estimated outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crores spread over five years.

The objective is optimal resource allocation for a holistic highway development initiative. 

The components of the Phase-I are Economic corridor development, Inter-corridor and feeder roads, National corridor efficiency, Border and international connectivity roads, Coastal and port connectivity roads and Expressways.

In addition to the above, around 2,100 km of coastal roads and 2000 km of port connectivity roads have been identified under Bharatmala of which 2,000 kms are being taken up under Phase-I at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. About 1,900 km of stretches have been identified for development of green-field expressways of which around 800 kms will be taken up under Phase-I of the programme at an estimated cost of Rs.40,000 crore. The 10,000 km of balance road work under NHDP will be completed at a cost of Rs 1,50,000 crore.

Grand Challenge’ mechanism is to be adopted to encourage State Government participation in implementation of the program. Projects that are supported by proactive effort by the concerned State Governments shall be taken up on priority basis.

A total of around 600 projects have been identified across the components for Bharatmala. DPR preparation for 19,500 kms is underway currently.