Polluted water kills more people than war: UN

 Polluted drinking water claim more lives than all forms of violence, including war, a UN report has said, highlighting the need for clean water.

The report, released on the occasion of World Water Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Monday, said one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases.

According to the report titled ‘Sick Water’, the sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars.

“These deaths are an affront to our common humanity, and undermine the efforts of many countries to achieve their development potential,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message marking Word Water Day.

“Day after day, we pour millions of tons of untreated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes into the world’s water systems. And the poor continue to suffer first and most from pollution, water shortages and the lack of adequate sanitation.”

The report said that some two million tons of waste is being discharged daily into rivers and seas causing the spread of disease and damage of ecosystems.

Taliban bombers sneaked in by local bus

The two Taliban suicide bombers who targeted army vehicles within the cantonment here on Friday had apparently sneaked into the heavily guarded area by using a bus, police sources said.

“Since all seven points leading into the cantonment are heavily guarded by the army and police personnel, hardly any private vehicle is allowed to enter the area without being thoroughly checked,” a source in the Crime Investigation Department told PTI.

“Security officials usually do not inspect buses plying on routes in this area. There is a great possibility that the two terrorists reached R A Bazar within the cantonment by riding a local bus,” he said.

“Specific directions have been issued to officials guarding entry points to the cantonment to check teenagers with a pathan look,” said the source.

The source further said both bombers were on foot and it would not have been possible for them to enter the area by evading security personnel.

Local buses were the only “safe” mode of transport they could have used to reach the destination, he said.

The suicide bombers blew themselves up after throwing grenades at vehicles of the Garrison Security Force killing 45 people, including 10 soldiers, and injuring over 100.

The bombers were aged between 17 and 20 years. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the bombers' features indicated that they hailed from the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan. Meanwhile, police sources said three suspects had been arrested in the cantonment.

Unrest

Pakistan has “solid evidence” of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province and the government is taking up this matter diplomatically with its Indian counterpart, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed on Friday.

Mr. Malik made the remarks while talking to the media at Parliament.

“We are not levelling mere allegations against India but we have solid evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

Man of Indian-origin 'set on fire' in Melbourne

There has been yet another attack on an Indian in Australia.

29-year-old Jaspreet Singh was set ablaze by a group of four attackers in Melbourne on Saturday, a week after a student from the country was stabbed to death amid a slew of assaults on the community in Australia. (Read: Indian youth fatally stabbed in Australia)

Jaspreet, who suffered 20 per cent burns including on his arms, chest and face, was admitted to Royal Melbourne hospital after he was attacked shortly before 2 am local time (0730 HRS IST) in Melbourne's Essendon area.

The police however say they do not believe the attack was racially motivated. (In pics:  Indians attacked in Australia)

Jaspreet and his wife left a dinner party in Essendon, in the city's northwest, between 1.30 am and 2 am and drove to their nearby home in Grice Crescent. He dropped his wife at home and had gone to park his car when he was attacked, local media reported.

Over 230 die in north India due to cold

About 239 people have died due to the biting cold across north India. In Uttar Pradesh alone over 200 people have died.

Swine flu death toll reaches 351

New Delhi: Seven people, including four from Maharashtra, died of swine flu on Monday taking the toll in the country to 351. The number of H1N1 cases in India also crossed the 11,000 mark, union health ministry said.

Apart from the four deaths in Maharashtra, one swine flu death each was reported from Haryana, Delhi and Karnataka. With these the casualty figure has jumped to 143 in Maharashtra, 15 in Delhi and four in Haryana.

12-year-old girl first swine flu victim in Chandigarh

Chandigarh: A 12-year-old girl died from influenza A (H1N1) virus on Monday, becoming the first swine flu casualty here, a health official said.

The victim, a native of Meerut in Uttar pradesh, was staying in the hostel of Chaman Vatika school on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway, 35 km from here.

`Harshita was brought to Chandigarh on Friday in a very serious condition and she was admitted at Chaitanya Hospital. When the hospital authorities informed us, she was already on ventilator support,` H.C. Gera, nodal officer for swine flu, Chandigarh, said.

`We took the throat and nasal swab samples and she tested positive. She had problems in breathing. Some doctors of this private hospital are on the panel of Chaman Vatika school, so they directly referred the patient there,` added Gera.

Following the swine flu case, the management on Sunday announced the closure of the school till Diwali later this month.

Health officials visited the school Sunday to examine students and staff members who were in close contact with the victim.

So far, over 230 suspected cases of swine flu have been reported in Chandigarh hospitals, out of which 40 have tested positive.

Global swine flu toll rises to over 3,900: WHO

  

Geneva: A total of 3,917 people have died of swine flu worldwide since the outbreak of the viral disease in April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update on Friday.

Of all the deaths, 2,948 occurred in the Americas, followed by the West Pacific region, with 362 deaths. The other four WHO regional offices, South-East Asia, Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 340, 154, 72 and 41 deaths respectively.

The WHO, which declared a swine flu pandemic in June, said the total number of laboratory confirmed cases worldwide is now over 318,925, but this estimate is significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred, as many countries have stopped testing and reporting individual cases, particularly the milder ones.

In the northern hemisphere, where winter is approaching, influenza cases continue to increase in many areas. But in the southern hemisphere, influenza transmission has largely returned to baseline or is continuing to decline, the global health agency said. 

Karnataka, Andhra floods: Is the worst over?

Monday October 5, 2009, Hyderabad, Bangalore

Four days after what are being described as the worst floods in history, many parts of Andhra Pradesh remain water-logged and cut off. The only access to many areas is through Indian Air Force choppers carrying out relief and rescue operations.

In Karnataka the situation is better, with water receding and none of the affected areas cut off.

Over 250 people are dead and close to 1 million have been displaced due to the massive floods in the south. The death toll stands at 206 and 63 in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh respectively.

Andhra Pradesh still flooded

One of India's most prosperous cities Vijayawada is today virtually cut off with highways connecting it to Hyderabad and Chennai under water. Army and private boats are being used extensively in Vijayawada and other villages in Krishna district to evacuate people and shift them to relief camps. The levels at the Prakasam barrage have been steadily rising, with the swollen Krishna virtually swallowing the areas on both sides of the river.

The Andhra Pradesh government has asked the Centre for Rs 6,000 crores for relief measures as water has submerged villages, entered homes leaving lakhs homeless, marooned; families have left as water from the Prakkassam barrage entered the city.

About 15,000 people in low-lying areas have been evacuated.

Andhra Pradesh has estimated damages due to heavy rains and floods at Rs 12,225 crore.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi took a closer look at the extent of devastation through an aerial survey of Kurnool and Mahabubnagar. Both districts took the maximum brunt of torrential rains and floods. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said he has requested Karnataka not to release water from Almatti and Narayanpur dams upstream unless it is inevitable.

Rehabilitation on in Karnataka

In Karnataka, the focus is now on rehabilitation efforts. With no rains over the last couple of days, floodwaters have receded but lakhs of people are in relief camps.

The Karnataka Chief Minister appealed to the PM to declare the worst floods in the state since 1972 as a 'national calamity' and release Rs 10,000 crore from the National Calamity Contingency Fund to rehabilitate the affected people. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told NDTV that many corporates are pitching in for the relief efforts and many villages will now be shifted permanently.

Meanwhile, Karnataka's Irrigation Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the flood damage in Andhra Pradesh could have been lessened if that state had handled its dams properly says. He told NDTV that Karnataka had kept its outflow to the minimum possible.

Delhi school stampede: Mob sets bus on fire

Tuesday September 29, 2009, New Delhi

An angry mob of around 1,500 people set a bus on fire in Delhi's Khajuri Khas area.

The protesters were demanding a CBI inquiry into the death of five girls in a stampede at a school in the area.

Ten people have been detained in connection with the violence.

The tragedy took place on the September 10 when the students had gathered to appear for an exam.

Parents of the victims have alleged that they have not received the compensation money.

PTI adds: Police used mild force to control the crowd which pelted stones and blocked the highway causing huge traffic jam and inconvenience to motorists in the area.

Heavy rains continue to lash Delhi

NEW DELHI: Overnight rains kept the mercury at a comfortable level in the capital today but waterlogging and traffic jams in various parts of the city made commuting tough for people.

The city received 38.2 mm of rains from midnight till 8.30 am today. Yesterday, the city received 112.9 mm of showers with the weatherman attributing the rains to a cyclonic circulation over Pakistan and Rajasthan.

According to MeT Office, the maximum temperature was recorded at 26.4 degree Celsius, a drop of about eight degrees, while the minimum was a little higher at 24 degree Celsius against yesterday's 23.3 degrees.

As traffic lights failed at various crossings, motorists and pedestrians faced a tough time. There were reports of traffic jams in parts of East Delhi, South Delhi and Northeast Delhi besides roads leading to the airport.

Yesterday, the city reported 32 incidents of falling of trees resulting in major traffic snarls. Six incidents of wall collapse were also reported.

5 students killed in stampede in Delhi; CM orders probe

Five children were killed and 27 injured on Thursday in a stampede in a flooded government school in the Capital. Thirty-one of the victims were girls. The stampede was sparked by rumours that electric current had leaked into the water that had flooded the school, police said.
The incident took place in a government-run school in Khajuri Khas in northeast Delhi in the morning.
The heavy rain from Wednesday evening had left the school premises flooded and when the children were inside a rumour went around that the ankle-deep water was charged with electricity. The children panicked and started running helter-skelter, leading to a stampede on a staircase, a police official said.
Confirming the number of dead and injured, Joint Commissioner of Police Dharmendra Kumar said the injured have been admitted to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.

The Principal had asked the students to vacate the school building, causing panic among the kids. This led to a stampede in which five schoolgirls were killed and 27 injured. Shiela Dikshit visited the injured kids who have been admitted to Delhi's GTB hospital. She has ordered an independent enquiry into the stampede.