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Most adolescents under-fed, warn experts
Help for girls in teens
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After yoga, it’s food revolution
 Haridwar, February 26
Yog guru Baba Ramdev is the one person who is responsible to bring yoga revolution in the country. He made yoga adaptable to the modern generation and introduced the benefits of healthy living to them. And now Baba Ramdev has entered into a new venture of Mega Food Park, which is aimed to bring farmer-food revolution in the entire country. Padartha Food Park being inaugurated by Cabinet Minister Subodhkant Sahay in Haridwar. —Tribune photograph
69 awarded degrees, diplomas
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Most adolescents under-fed, warn experts
Dehradun, February 26 If figures are any indicator, then adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the total population. As per the 2001 census, the adolescents (10-19 years) form 23.8 per cent of the population in Uttarakhand, yet little attention is accorded to their health needs. “Adolescent comprise one-fourth of the population and most are unmarried with a large proportion attending school. There are gaps in knowledge which are compounded by risk-taking behaviour.There is need for a comprehensive adolescent health programme,” said Dr Prem Lal, Health. The low nutrition level among teenagers is reflected in several independent studies undertaken by NGOs. Health experts say nutritional deficiency among teenagers has to be addressed early as it results in poor performance in school that has a spillover effect in their adult life as well, affecting their competence as they take up adult roles later in life. To address the malaise, the state government has taken a small step by starting deliberations on adolescent needs and aims to make healthcare services accessible through primary health centres (PHCs) from the next financial year. The target districts are Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Haridwar and Dehradun.The two-year programme will offer a basket of services comprising counselling, nutrition and complete health services at the PHCs in association with the Rural Development Institute (Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust). The Institute will be training 200 doctors and 4000 ANMs and ASHAs (health workers) who will be equipped to handle the health needs of adolescents. While giving several reasons for the nutritional deficiency among adolescents, Dr Rajeev Bijalwan, consultant HIHT, said migration and the society in transition are the two major causes. “Migration is an endemic problem. Sixty per cent of women live alone in the hills. As such there is general apathy towards their nutritional needs. The society in the hills is in a transition phase. Dietary and agriculture patterns are changing. Earlier, grains and pulses were grown in abundance but this is no longer the case. Instead, farmers are growing cash crops and vegetables,” said Dr Bijalwan. Prevalence of anaemia among adolescent boys and girls is a serious issue in Uttarakhand. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent dietary deficiency in older adolescent girls and lower socio-economic groups. Iron deficiency is more common during peak growth in boys. It is common in menstruating teenage girls and decreased dietary intake. The requirement for vitamins and minerals rises during adolescence due to rapid skeletal growth,” explained Dr Bijalwan. According to a survey, the prevalence of anaemia among the 15-19 age group is 59.3 per cent and in children 69.6 per cent. “Iron deficiency causes loss of immunity and hosts of other problems that have to be tackled during childhood. Children report loss of mental concentration and even weak eyesight. It is a social and economic problem,” opined Dr Nidhi Chaudhury, consultant, Futures Group. The focus should be on nutritional counselling, supply of nutritional supplements and incorporation of double fortified salts. “The government policy is targeting the poor whereas iron deficiency is prevalent among large sections of society.
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Help for girls in teens
Dehradun, February 26 Started in January 2005 in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts of Uttarakhand, the programme has begun bearing fruit. There has been a drastic reduction in the school dropout rate which was as high as 30 per cent among junior school girls in these districts. There are 8 lakh teenage girls in Uttarakhand, but little attention is paid towards their mental, physical and emotional well-being. “Educating girls is not accorded top priority in the hills due to the traditional mindset of parents. “Though the responsibility of running the house rests on women, in the absence of husbands who work outside, girls are increasingly encouraged to lend a helping hand in domestic chores,” explains Cyril Raphael, chief advisor, SBMA. In the beginning, the programme focussed on raising the self-esteem among girls. Clusters called “Kishori Samooh” were created in selected villages of Uttarkashi “Girls in the age group of 10-19 y were made members of the clusters. They were encouraged to discuss their problems pertaining to health and nutrition. It came to light that parents feared for the safety of their girls as they had to cover several kilometres to reach school. In some cases parents did not want to invest in girls’ education for the economic reasons,” said Madan Dhobal, project manager, SBMA. In Bhukki village of Uttarkashi, “Kishori Samoohs” are a one-stop shop for teenaged girls where group leaders not only address their day-to-day problems, but also give them career guidance. “These samoohs are filling in the gaps by providing guidance to young girls who may find it difficult to get advice on several issues that may confront them. “Above all, they are helpingf restore self-esteem among young girls who are now eagerly resuming their studies. The next step will be to tackle more serious issues,” said Madan Dhobal.
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After yoga, it’s food revolution
Haridwar, February 26
With a vision to acquire raw material directly from the farmers and then process it in the food park units is the next big thing in the offing from the yog guru apart from a series of entertainment channels in the pipeline. With the opening of Padartha Food Park under the aegis of Patanjali Food and Herbal Park named after the local village Padartha situated in the Lakshar-Roorkee highway in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand the focus is on juice processed from fruits and vegetables. Ranging from aloevera, tomato, anwla, citrus fruits, pudina etc the food park will process about 500 tones of fruits and vegetables daily which means a massive output daily which will cater to the juice segment and will pose a threat to the carbonated drinks. In the 95-acre park, there will be half a dozen of factories, which will be linked with the wide distribution network with farmers at root level so that the raw material supply continues unhindered. About 32 processing units will be targeted initially in the first phase. For this project several specialist teams have already surveyed in various districts of neighbouring states apart from Uttarakhand. Farmers in the hilly region can now sow aloevera and anwla and can avail the benefits directly from the food park. “A team of specialists will provide basic training to the farmers at the centers established under the park project,” said a Padartha Park official. According to Acharya Balakrishan, an associate of Baba Ramdev, the park will start its production in the next five-six months and will bring a food revolution in the country with about thirty such food parks planned in the coming days. But what is most striking about the park is that the left over of the fruits will be used to produce electricity. The first Food Park was launched at Getalsood, this week in Jharkhand. To be built on 100 acres of land and approximately with an investment of Rs.300 crore, this food park will be having state-of-the-art machinery for which 56 acres of land have already been acquisitioned. The park will be having 32 processing units with an estimated 30,000 people involved directly and indirectly. Union Minister of Food and Processing, Subodhkant Sahay, who inaugurated the Food Parks said Jharkhand and Uttarakhand both have immense possibilities for food processing and with these food parks, the much needed farmer revolution has just begun. While the Yog Guru Baba Ramdev on this mega venture said this was the first time that he has collaborated with the government. Baba Ramdev has given his assent on being the Food and Processing Ministry’s brand ambassador. With having the reigns of Aastha channel already, two new 24 hour channels are to be a part Baba Ramdev Patanjali Limited soon-offering bhajans, vedic knowledge apart from cultural, dance and music programmes. Experts predict that the success of these food chains depend on the availability of raw material with the distribution and supply network. And if it does then certainly this chain of food parks is going to augur a revolution like green revolution of the 1960’s.
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69 awarded degrees, diplomas
Dehradun, February 26 In the 20th graduation service of the college, attended by more than a 1,000 invited guests, 69 young men and women, who successfully completed the masters and bachelors degrees in theology and music, were awarded degrees and diplomas in a solemn ceremony. Dr Santhosh Sahayadoss, director of academic affairs, said that for two years in a row, NTC graduates have been adjudged all-India toppers in theological education by the Senate of Serampore University. Rev Narendra Katare prayed for the graduates and encouraged them to work wholeheartedly in the service of the nation. At this occasion, Bharat Susamachar Samiti (BSS) launched a new co-educational, English medium, residential-cum-day school at New Theological College (NTC) campus in Kulhan as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations. Located in the beautiful campus near Sahastradhara with a spectacular view of the mountains, this school named Khrist Jyoti Academy, will be a boon for the residents of Sahastradhara, Rajpur, Jhakan and neighbouring villages. NTC offers a unique music programme. Jacob Joseph, a well-known musician of the city and who has done his Masters in Piano from the USA said that NTC will be offering a summer programme for music lovers of Dehradun for systematic training in music. Reverend Dr George Oommen, director of the Khrist Jyoti Academy, said that seats would be limited as the school would maintain an ideal student-teacher ratio in order to provide individual attention to each student for their overall development. There are already pre-registration applicants for admission and the classes for nursery to grade 1 will begin from April 15.
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Dehradun, February 26
Dehradun, February 26
