Cigarette ban is all smoke
The health authorities have been unable to put into effect the ban on smoking or carry out checks on the sale of tobacco products without the mandatory pictorial warning
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 2
Despite a steady rise in the number of cancer cases every year, the state is yet to equip its hospitals with full-fledged oncology departments and affordable cancer treatment continues to remain out of reach of patients. If the state is lacking in good cancer treatment, it has also been slow on the anti-smoking front with no anti-smoking zones being created or drives launched to check vendors selling tobacco products without pictorial warning. The needs of cancer patients are being met by the oncology department of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust ( HIHT), Jolly Grant.

In an unexpected turn of events, the previous government had provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs 21 crore to the hospital that was finding it difficult to get trained manpower to handle the cobalt chambers. The data provided by the Health Directorate between 2005-2009 shows 7,128 cancer patients in Dehradun, 45 in Pauri, 61 Hardwar, eight Tehri, 23 Pithoragarh, 2,180 Nainital, five Uttarkashi, 16 Chamoli, two Champawat, six Udham Singh Nagar and 
217 Almora.

Health experts say few cancer patients have access to adequate pain relief. Several years back, the ministry of health and family welfare had suggested that there should be a cancer hospital in each state. But so far the suggestion has not been implemented.

In Uttarakhand, after investing considerable amount in the oncology department of the HIHT, the state is in a bind as it is yet to receive returns from the hospital in terms of providing care to patients at no extra cost. “We will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the HIHT authorities for ensuring that the BPL card patients receive free treatment for cancer,” said Dr PL Joshi, DG. health.

Though there is no cancer treatment facility in district hospitals, screening tests have brought to the fore a number of cancer cases in the state.

The programme is on in the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar and Tehri. The prevalence of cervical cancer is high among women while cases of lung and blood cancer are high among men. “Since the launch of the programme, there has been a qualitative change in the attitude of women as they now willingly come for PAP smear tests and so is the case with men.

“The habit of chewing tobacco is on the increase among hill men that invariably leads to cancer,” said Dr Suman Arya, National Cancer Programme. Also, the health authorities have been unable to put into effect the ban on smoking or carry out checks on the sale of tobacco products without the mandatory pictorial warning.

A hospital staff pointed out that no teams had been constituted to check smokers or tobacco users. As such, the ban remained ineffective.

“Even billboards spreading the message against tobacco do not mention anything about the drive being launched and teams to be contacted on offenders,” he said, pleading anonymity. It has been eight weeks since the central government made it mandatory on manufacturers of tobacco products to carry pictorial warnings but bidi and gutka companies continue to flight the rules, says a study by the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). Dr Ajay Dewan, senior surgeon and oncologist, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, Delhi, and Ganga Prem Hospice, Rishikesh, said with low levels of literacy, pictorial warnings with pictures of rotting gums could effectively warn bidi and gutka users, but the government must maintain regular checks.

Tobacco causes leukoplakia, white patches in the mouth, submucus fibrosis and trismus, inability to open mouth.

The use of tobacco can cause cancer, TB, chest infection, infertility and in pregnant women may lead to low birth-weight babies.

"Bidi brands have been violating the rules and have not placed pictorial health warnings. Many chewable tobacco products like the gutkha have implemented the rules but have drastically watered down the pictorial warnings.

Only a few cigarette companies and brands have implemented the pack warnings," the study said. The government had on October 2, 2008, banned smoking at public places. Smoking has also been banished from the silver screen.

Experts say over 9,00,000 people die every year in India from smoking-related diseases.

IIT devices info system for travellers
Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Roorkee, August 2
In an effort to make the country’s capital more commuter-friendly, the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, has developed the Advanced Traveller Information System (ATIS).

According to experts at IIT, the system would prove useful if put into place before the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, which are slated to be held in New Delhi
in 2010.

Provides directions on the best path and closest facility based on distance and travel time Calculates auto/taxi fare and travel time Displays available facilities along the path Provides common GIS functions like feature display, zoom Provides bus route info and Delhi metro fares Provides info on departure time, days of operation and important stops for each train

Dr Parveen Kumar, principal investigator of the project, transportation engineering group, civil engineering department, said the demand for transport facilities has been growing worldwide.

“In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, people need to get to their destinations swiftly, safely, reliably and affordably.

They need information that allows them to make good travel choices,” said Dr Parveen.

“Besides, the transport system needs to be kept safe and secure so that it can continue to provide service in both routine and extraordinary conditions.

To meet these needs, it requires innovative ways to build, operate and use all modes of the transport system - a blend of imagination and practical reality.

This approach is called the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). The ATIS is an integral component of ITS,” he added. Dr Parveen said the ATIS for Delhi has been developed in advance GIS softwares, which can be installed in any computer system and can be used in any vehicle.

Complete information about the city such as road network, historical places, hospitals, hotels, auditoria, petrol pumps, buses, metro, and railway stations has been provided in this custom application.

The system, based on two types of information - static (which is known in advance and rarely changes) and realtime (which changes frequently), - displays the best path between an origin and destination or a set of places, paths to closest facilities on map and also provides path directions based on distance and travel time.

Information regarding city bus routes, Delhi metro train fare and frequency, inter-state bus services and inter-city trains has also been included in the application.

The ATIS (New Delhi) also provides tools for panning, zooming, viewing the images of important places and printing the Delhi map view.

The system, which could be used in the Intelligent Transport System (ITS), offers the promise of ‘better informed travel decisions’ and more efficient use of transportation infrastructure, claimed IIT experts.

It will also work as a guide to those who visit Delhi. Notably, the department has also prepared such systems to mitigate the traffic woes of other cities such as Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The system is exactly what our crowded cities require.

They live in fear of the raingods
BD Kasniyal

Pitthoragarh, August 2
Eightyfive-year-old Nandi Devi sits gazing at the roof of her house in a village near Dharchula in Pitthoragarh district. She has yet to come to terms with the death of her son Rajender and grandchildren Shobha and Sanjay on September 6, 2008, in a cloudburst that hit her village in the Baram valley, killing 15 persons and wiping out four families.

“It thundered incessantly throughout the night amid heavy showers that triggered landslides, damaging the houses of Roop Singh, Prem Singh and Rajender Singh and killing their family members,” said Aan Singh, who escaped because he was away to the marketplace.

Of the 200 villages in three subdivisions of Dharchula, Munsiyari and Didihat, Dhauli and Gori villages and thosae located in the Kali valley have been identified as most vulnerable to landslides.

Although monsoon has been weak this year, people living in these areas still fear cloudbursts.These fall under Zone V of the seismically active zone.

Says Manoj Panday, disaster mitigation officer in the district:“A study undertaken by Deepak Hatwal, a geologist, last year had recommended shifting of 10 villages from the Gori valley.”

At least 410 persons in these villages have died since 1971 in landslides. In the Malpa tragedy of 1998, 215 persons, including 60 Mansarvor pilgrims, were swept away in laqndslides. “Not only Pithoragarh but the entire area falls in the main seismically active central thrust, causing landslides.

These areas include the Kapkot block of Bagehswar, the Chamoli and Ghansali area of Uttarkashi and parts of Rudraprayag district,” said Piyush Rautela, director of state disaster mitigation centre. Anand Sharma, director, meteorology department, Dehradun, say cloudbursts occur when cumulo nimbus clouds lash a small area.

“This is because of the topography of the region.Clouds between two mountains get moisture from the river flowing below and when suddenly a big mountain comes in the way, the entire cloud bursts at a single place, causing heavy damage,” explains Sharma. Since the past seven years, incidents of cloudbursts have been on the rise.

Dr Deepak Hatwal, geologist with the geology and mining department of Uttarakhand, says the Himalayas are made of different sizes of earthstones, including boulders, which are stable due to the gravitational force rather than the interlinking force.

“When heavy rains occur, the linking capacity loosens and these slopes start breaking. The solution to this perpetual human lose is to discourage human settlements in this area,” says Hatwal. Come rains and the entire area of Baram in Pitthoragarh begins to fear landslides.

“Every year hundreds of acres of cultivable land is washed away by these landslides. The villages of Malla Talla Sain have become un-cultivable.

Now, they have gone out of houses as well,” says BS Parihar, a resident of Baram. The villages of Hurki ,Chami Bagar, Lumti Kalika and Bangapani have been affected by this catastrophe since 2000.

During the rainy season, anxious residents of 12 villages keep awake at night. Five families of Saldhar village affected by a landslide in 2007 are living in temporary hutments,” says Parihar.

Sources in nthe geology and mining department at Dehradun concede that despite the recurring calamity, there has been no comprehensive study on the problem.

Another area where people live under the constant threat of landslides is that of Tawaghat in Dharchula where landslides in 1971 and 1977 caused much havoc.

“Right since 1971, we have been living under constant threat of landslides as we have lost 45 villagers in at least 12 landslides since then,” said Kunwar Singh Dhami of Ailagar village of Tawaghat.

Dr Piyush Rautela, in charge at the state disaster mitigation centre, says the state has no comprehensive study on geology of areas prone to landslides.

“Despite all odds, our centre has prepared a comprehensive plan for disaster mitigation,” claimed Rautela.

This year despite the weak monsoon, 20 persons have died and more than 50 houses have collapsed in landslides and cloudbursts till date.

Serving savoury snacks since 1984
Divya Semwal
Tribune News Service