When was the last time u saw Sparrows?

Have you ever seen a sparrow on your window in last 2-3 years. If you memorize before more than 10 years then you definitely recall them on your house windows, nearby trees. You also remind their nests. There was a time when they make their nest at your windows and watching them with their offspring’s giving lot of fun, I especially don’t miss the time when theirs parents feed them, it gives a lot of pleasure to see them eating. :-)

Sparrows in trouble due to mobile towers: Changing climate, global warming, growing concrete jungles, depleting greenery and most of all mobile towers dotting the skyline of urban and rural areas are seen as plausible causes for decline of sparrows across the country.

Naturalists, conservationists, nature lovers and bird experts were concerned at the declining number of the friendly species of birds, said noted ornithologist Amarjit Gupta.

Gupta pointed out that the greatest danger to the environment was posed by the mobile towers erected atop stating a study has shown that the presence of this bird was only noticed in those areas located at a safe distance from the towers, he said, a little greenery also provided living and surviving space for sparrows.

According to bird watcher Raminder Singh, it is good news that there has been a campaign in the national capital to give the sparrow the status of a ‘state bird’ and the Delhi Government has accepted it.

"The sparrow has got recognition. The bird which has been seen disappearing from residential homes will now get a new lease of life. This will definitely give a boost to its preservation in the country", Singh said.

Until a year ago, the sparrow was listed under the 'Least Concern' category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Now, with the efforts of scientists and considering the decreasing number of sparrows, the IUCN has declared it Endangered and placed it in the Red Data List of endangered species. 

Whose fault is this? Is it government who least care about those shit or its cost of technology or telecom firms. No it’s ours fault, ours peoples attitude fault towards others, who always thinking about making our life easy and least care about others (this is called externalities). We are destroying food life cycle made by nature, we have to stop this immediately until it’s too late …………………………who knows what next.

Still 14 States to ban gutka

: After Delhi and Gujarat governments notified the ban on gutka and paan masala on Tuesday, the number of states with similar prohibition have gone up to 14. However, Odisha accounting for the highest percentage of tobacco chewers in the country is yet to join the league of tobacco-free states.

Experts say besides its direct adverse impact on health, gutka items are among the most adulterated products, multiplying the health risks of those using it. Besides Delhi and Gujarat, 10 states and UTs, including Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Mizoram banned gutka by implementing the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations-2011.

The Food Safety Standardization Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Union health ministry to handle food-related issues, notified the new regulations on August 1, 2011. Goa and Sikkim had clamped such ban prior to the FSSAI regulation on the basis of their own state laws.

Under rule 2.3.4 of the FSSAI regulation "food product will not contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products". MP was the first state to implement the FSSAI regulation-2011 on April 1, followed by others. Though Odisha notified the regulation on July 22, it is yet to issue orders on the ban of gutka products as is required.

Gutka ban has special significance for Odisha because the latest annual health survey (AHS) found Odisha having the highest percentage of tobacco chewers among the nine surveyed states. Odisha with 38% tobacco chewers in the above 15 years age group is ahead of Assam (36.6%),Chhattisgarh (32.5%), Jharkhand (24.1%), Bihar (22.5%), Uttar Pradesh (21%), Madhya Pradesh (18.9%), Uttarakhand (8.8%) and Rajasthan (6.9%), the government survey said.

While 40.6% of the state's rural population consume edible tobacco, their population in urban areas is 25.6%. Among men, 45.8% use smokeless tobacco while 30.3% women chew tobacco. Health authorities said the ban is under active consideration of the government. "We have already made a detailed proposal for banning gutka and paan masala under the central legislation. The government will soon take a decision," said director (public health) Dr Prasad Kumar Patnaik.

Director (health services) Dr Tribikram Panda said a commissionerate of food safety will soon be notified as the nodal authority to implement the ban on gutka. "The commissionerate will be responsible to ensure food safety, including ban of edible tobacco products, and prevent adulteration," said Dr Panda.

Anti-tobacco activists and experts said tobacco is the single largest cause of oral cancer in the state and its adulteration is substantially adding to the health risks. "Several laboratory tests show that calcium or magnesium carbonate is added to gutka," said Itishree Kanungo, an anti-tobacco activist. The chemicals give extra texture to gutka. While magnesium carbonate is toxic to cheek lining, kidney and heart. "Though the additives may be posing a health hazard, the biggest worry continues to remain the tobacco part, which is addictive and is among the main causes of oral cancer," said Dr AK Rath, chairman and managing director of Hemalata Hospitals and Research Centre in the city.

 

 thank you :-)

Polio-free INDIA: WHO

Region is polio-free as the last case of wild polio virus there was reported in Jan 2011 in India, making a regional polio-free certification possible in early 2014, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official said Wednesday.

WHO is working with countries to ensure the region sustains the gains made on polio eradication and achieves the regional polio-free certification in early 2014.

"On present trends, the Southeast Asia region is set to be declared polio-free in January 2014. This is a magnificent achievement. We must now eradicate polio globally," said Margaret Chan, WHO director general, during a meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

According to WHO, twenty months without any cases of polio reported in the region is an important milestone, but the mission has not been accomplished yet.

Describing India`s effort in eradicating polio, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "The magnitude of effort gone into achieving the zero polio status could be well understood by the fact that during each nationwide polio vaccination campaign, India has successfully vaccinated 172 million children through 2.3 million vaccinators in 202 million households."

"India has learnt several critical lessons during the journey of polio eradication which will act as a guide not only for India but for the entire world in any public health intervention"