Category: Jharkhand

Digital dispensaries treating patients in Jharkhand’s ‘doctor-less’ villages

Source: hindustantimes.com

Digital dispensaries (telemedicine centres) where doctors diagnose and treat diseases through video-conferencing are turning out to be a boon for people living in remote villages of Jharkhand.

Launched by the Jharkhand government on February 20 this year, the digital dispensaries have provided medical services to around 79,000 rural people in 100 centres set up so far, officials at state unit of national rural health mission (NRHM) said.

Jharkhand has tied up with the Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd for the telemedicine services. A panel of 30 doctors and specialists related to gynaecology, paediatrics, general medicine and dermatology, has been providing medical services from 10 am to 4 pm daily, excluding Sundays and national holidays, sitting in Hyderabad or Chennai.

The state government has converted 100 primary health centres, where doctors’ availability is negligible, into digital dispensaries.

Interestingly, rural women have shown more interest to the services. According to the dashboard of telemedicine centre, 78,550 patients have visited the digital dispensaries till 12.30 pm on Monday since February 20, of which 48,793 were females, while number of male patients was 29,735 in the state. The officials engaged in monitoring the patients footfalls at the centre said a total of 879 patients visited digital dispensaries till 4pm on Monday.

The NRHM’s IT (information technology) Cell head, Abanindra Kumar, said: “We had set target to treat at least 10 patient at each centre and 1000 across 100 centres daily, which was almost achieved. Now, we are targeting to raise the number patients to 20 at each centre daily and 2,000 across the centres in state.”

He, however, said there was lack of awareness about such facilities in some of the centres. “We are working to make it popular in such areas so that maximum people could get affordable and standard health facilities,” he said.

Dumka has the highest 11 such centres where more than 8922 patients have visited so far, while East Singhbhum, which has nine centres, has witnessed second highest 8762 patients till 12.30pm on Monday since February 20. Over 7241 patients have availed the facility from six centres in Ranchi district.

Maya Devi, 35, an anaemia patient from East Singhbhum district, said she visited telemedicine centre and found it very easy. “My disease was diagnosed by a doctor through video-conferencing and he advised me for haemoglobin test. Getting treatment in telemedicine centre is very easy as well as beneficial,” she said.

An auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and a lab technician are deputed in each digital dispensary. After registration of the patient, the ANM and lab technician would conduct vital tests for height, weight, blood pressure, sugar level, body temperature of the patient.

Patients can also avail medicines from the digital dispensaries, where 60 types of common generic medicines are stored. Besides, patients can also get to avail tests for malaria, typhoid, dengue, haemoglobin, urine analysis and pregnancy in the telemedicine centres.

27.1 crore poor in India now above BPL index: UN report

Source: indiatoday.in

he 2019 global multi-dimensional poverty index report by the United Nations states that 27.1 crore of the poor in India have come above the BPL index. According to the report, Jharkhand is among other states which have improved by leaps and bounds in poverty reduction.

The UN report is based on factors such as income, health, quality of work and threat of violence.

While the report shows growth among the poverty-stricken people, some right to food activists do not seem to be impressed by it. They said that Jharkhand still has to go a long way in addressing the issues of poor, public distribution system (PDS) and food guarantee.

The government may not admit the ground realities, but deaths due to starvation have been reported time and again in Jharkhand from the beginning, activists said.

An advisor to the Supreme Court on the right to food, Balram, questioned the basis on which the poor have been identified and put in different categories. In the 2011 census report, 23.94 lakh poor were kept under PVTG (Particular Vulnerable Tribe Group) category. Everyone belonging to the PVTG was allotted red cards, indicating that they are eligible to get 35 kg of food grain every month.

Around 11.44 lakh were identified as priority household (PHH). Prior to the National Food Security Act, 2013, these people were eligible for 35 kg of food grains every month, but after amendments in the provision, every individual is entitled to only 5 kg of food grains per month.

Earlier, any household or family received 35 kg. But now, if there are only four members in a family, their ration will be curtailed by 15 kg.

Moreover, the population is another reason behind the struggles of the poor. The population in India has grown rapidly by 25 per cent since 2011, but the allotment of ration to the poor section of the society by the government under different schemes remains the same. This has led to a yawning gap between demand and supply.

According to many, digitalisation has played a spoilsport in the PDS. A big lot of beneficiaries are left out following the internet problem and poor connectivity or network.

However, Jharkhand’s Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Saryu Roy refuted the argument. He said, “After 2016, it was clearly instructed that ration dispensation is mandatory, no matter if it is online or offline. The offline process just needs approval from BSO (Block Supply Officer).

Roy also said that the ration cards of only those members were cancelled who had two cards issued in their name. To avoid the issue of double ration cards, the government had made it mandatory to link ration cards with Aadhar number.

Jharkhand minister Saryu Roy said, “We have formed a food bank in every panchayat. They have been sent a standing imprest of Rs 10,000 to distribute among those who are unable to access ration from the dealers following technical reasons. The steps were taken with an aim to minimise the chances of starvation.”

Jharkhand lifts most people out of poverty; still remains among poorest states

Source: financialexpress.com

Eastern state Jharkhand has made the fastest leap in bringing down the number of poor among fellow Indian states and has reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent to 46.5 per cent in the decade ending in 2016, The Indian Express reported. Jharkhand showed the steepest decline in the poor populace which was once second only to Bihar’s in 2005-06. However, it still remains one of the poorest Indian states with more than half of India’s poor populace concentrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. 

In a report released by the UN Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development, it was found that in India, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty went down to 369.55 million in 2015-16 from 690.55 million in 2005-06. This is a considerable reduction of 271 million people in a decade.

The multidimensional poverty index (MPI) takes into account a person’s deprivations across 10 indicators; hence becoming a comprehensive indicator that looks beyond income poverty. These indicators are — health, education, and standard of living — nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance; access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water; electricity and housing; and assets. 

In India, the MPI fell from 0.283 to 0.123 in a decade. India and Cambodia are the fastest in 10 selected countries which reduced their MPI’s the most. In fact, India has halved the number of people living in abject poverty from 55.1 per cent to 27.9 per cent in a decade. It has also brought down the intensity of deprivation from 51.1 per cent to 43.9 per cent, according to the global MPI report.

The report also said that India demonstrated “the clearest pro-poor pattern at the subnational level: the poorest regions reduced multidimensional poverty the fastest in absolute terms”. India is also among three countries where urban areas were outshined by rural areas in reducing poverty. 

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15 armed jawans injured in bus accident in Jharkhand

Source: hindustantimes.com

Fifteen Jharkhand armed police personnel were injured when a bus carrying them to Deoghar from Ranchi lost control in Sikidiri valley under Rajrappa police station on Saturday morning, about 40-km from Ranchi.

Four personnel received serious injuries and were admitted to Medanta hospital in the state capital. The rest 11 jawans were admitted to Rajendra Institute of medical sciences (RIMS) where they were undergoing treatment.

The driver of the vehicle carrying lost control while taking steep turn in the valley and was about to turn turtle when it dashed against the sidewalls of the rock. The front side of the vehicle was badly damaged.

According to information, there were 52 armed jawans in the vehicle that was on its way to Deoghar. The security personnel were being transported from JAP-2 to assist the security arrangement of the month long Shravani mela to begin on July 17 in Deoghar.

The deputation of the police was made on the request of the Deoghar administration and the security personnel had left JAP-2 around 6:30 in the morning.

Poverty index: how Jharkhand reduced its poor the fastest

Source: indianexpress.com

LAST WEEK, the UN Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative released the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report for 2019, which found that Jharkhand has made the fastest improvement among Indian states in reducing poverty (The Indian Express, July 13). Across India, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty has gone down from 690.55 million in 2005-06 to 369.55 million in 2015-16 — a reduction of 271 million people in a decade.

Jharkhand reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent to 46.5 per cent between 2005-06 and 2015-16. The accompanying graph shows how its index, second only to Bihar’s in 2005-06, has shown the steepest decline among the poorest states. Jharkhand, however, remains one of the poorest states in the country. Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh together accounted for 196 million MPI poor people — more than half of all multidimensionally poor in India.

The global MPI factors in a person’s deprivations across 10 indicators in health, education, and standard of living — nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance; access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water; electricity and housing; and assets. For India, the MPI has reduced from 0.283 to 0.123 in a decade. Of 10 selected countries, India and Cambodia reduced their MPI values the fastest. While the proportion of the population living in multidimensional poverty in India has halved from 55.1 per cent to 27.9 per cent in a decade, the intensity of deprivation has fallen less sharply, from 51.1 per cent to 43.9 per cent, the report said.

Abki baar 65 paar: Jharkhand CM on forthcoming assembly elections

Source: indiatoday.in

Raghubar Das, who is on the verge of becoming the first chief minister to complete a five-year term in once politically-volatile Jharkhand, has set the BJP’s target for the assembly polls due later this year – “Abki baar 65 paar”.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP had won 42 of the 81 seats. The BJP and its allies clinched 12 of the 14 seats in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“Abki baar painsath (65) paar (This time we will cross 65 seats). There is not an iota of doubt in people giving an absolute mandate to us. We will win by a thumping majority as the message of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narenda Modi has percolated down to the masses,” Jharkhand Chief Minister Das told PTI in an interview.

“Due to the solid foundation of development works, a BJP worker remains ever ready for elections. Whether in Jharkhand or other parts in the country, people have seen and accepted the politics of development under Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

Claiming that the opposition ‘mahagathbandhan’ will come a cropper in the ensuing polls, Das said people of the state including the exploited, the downtrodden, the poor and the Dalits have seen development work and have “outrightly rejected the ‘power-hungry’ coalition formed with selfish ulterior motives”.

The ‘mahagathbandhan’ managed to bag just two Lok Sabha seats this year — JMM and Congress bagging one seat each — while the rest of the alliance Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) failed to win any.

“Jharkhand citizens have shown the mirror to ‘mahagathbandhan’ in the Lok Sabha elections. They were stumped by NDA’s politics of development. This time too they will be given a befitting reply,” Das said.

He is set to become the first ever chief minister of Jharkhand to complete a full-term after its bifurcation from Bihar on November 15, 2000.

“I have complete faith that the double engine government (at the Centre and state) has taken people to the path of development. Now development is reaching to villagers in far-flung areas. Basic necessities like electricity and water have reached inaccessible areas. Youths are getting employment,” he claimed.

Each sector whether infrastructure, agriculture, women empowerment or skill development among the youth, is progressing fast, he said.

Elaborating on the welfare schemes, Das said his government has launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Sukanya Yojna’ under which girls from 26 lakh poor families will be benefited.

He said girls belonging to families whose annual income is up to Rs 72,000 will benefit from the scheme six times since birth till they attain the age of 18.

Likewise he said, there are several schemes benefiting hundreds of the poor in the state, adding his government has coined a slogan for girls: “Pehle padhai, fir vidai” (Education first, marriage later).

“For the welfare of farmers, we have started ‘Mukhyamantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana’ where farmers with an acre of land will get Rs 5,000 and farmers having five acres will get Rs 25,000.

“There would be 35 lakh beneficiaries and the scheme will entail and expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore,” he said.

Jharkhand to pay Rs10-cr as ‘performance guarantee’ to anti-pollution body

Source: hindustantimes.com

Following the direction of National Green Tribual (NGT), the state government is set to pay Rs10 crore as performance guarantee to the central pollution control board (CPCB) with assurance of lowering down biochemical oxygen demand below 3mg/litre in seven rivers’ stretches in three years, officials said.

The NGT recently asked the state government to deposit the said amount to the central pollution board as performance guarantee so that the issue could be dealt with serious efforts in a time bound manner.

“Jharkhand is not alone. The performance guarantee was asked from all states having polluted river. The NGT has fixed the rate of guarantee on the basis of pollution level in rivers. Since Jharkhand has seven stretches of seven rivers, the state was asked to pay Rs 10 crore as performance guarantee,” said Jharkhand state pollution control board (JSPCB) chairman AK Rastogi. Rastogi, however, claims Jharkhand stands at four in the river pollution category, which means pollution level is less in rivers of the state.

The stretches of seven rivers Garga, Sankh, Subarnarekha, Damodaro, Jumar, Konar and Nalkari – would go under rejuvenation drive in next three years. The JSPCB has submitted its action plan to the CPCB suggesting ways to reduce pollution level in the stretches.

According to the action plan report, highest BOD level at 8.4mg/litre was found at 10-km stretch of Sankh river, while 6.2mg/litre was recorded at eight kilometre stretch of Garga river along Telmuchu. BOD level at 3.4mg/litre to 10mg/litre was found at 120-km stretch of Subarnarekha river, while 3.9mg/litre BOD found at on 12-km stretch of Damodar near Phusro, Bhandaridah and Dhanbad. Similarly, the BOD level from 3.3mg/litre to 3.8 mg/litre was found on stretches of Jumar, Konar and Nalkari. “We have been given three-year timeline to bring down the BOD level from the stretches below 3mg/litre,” said JSPCB member secretary Rajiv Lochan Bakshi.

Experts say BOD causes a serious threat to the aquatic life due to the depletion of dissolved oxygen. They blame large-scale mining operations in the state for river pollution.

A JSPCB official said about 130 million litres of industrial effluents and 65 million litres of untreated domestic water are released to Damodar drainage system.

The JSPCB suggested hordes of measures in its action plan to reduce the pollution in rivers.

The measures suggested for industries are setting up effluent treatment plants, adaption of zero liquid discharge concept by industries, tailing ponds management plans such as dewatering and drying, water recovery and re-use and discharge legislation compliance.

Pollution abatement measures at domestic source suggested under the action plan included sewerage systems to capture raw sewage flowing into the rivers though open drains and diverting them for treatment and setting up sewage treatment plants for treating diverted sewage.

Long road to zero power-cut dream in Jharkhand

Source: telegraphindia.com

Chief minister Raghubar Das’s zero power-cut dream by July 31 looks likely to come to nought.

Das during a review meeting on July 5 had asked Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (JBVNL) to ensure regular power supply across the state by July 31, which looks unlikely, given the slow pace of underground cabling work.

A reliable JVBNL source said only 400km had been covered so far against the targeted 1,000km for laying 33KV wires underground. In the case of laying 11KV wires, the situation is more dismal. Again, only 400km had been covered while the target is 5,000KV.

“Underground cabling under R-APDRP (restructured accelerated power development and report programme) which is being done in 30

cities including Ranchi, Bundu, Khunti and 27 others, is a must for zero power cuts, but work is slow on the ground and the onset of monsoon, like it or not, is hampering the speed,” the JVBNL source said.

General manager of JVBNL Sanjay Kumar said they were making every effort to quickly lay cables.

“After summer, power supply automatically becomes normal as load reduces. During summer, we get lower voltage power from the grid, now we are getting proper voltage. When power is supplied at proper voltage, heating of wires reduces and so does disconnection of power, unlike in summer,” GM Kumar said. Asked why power cuts are a daily occurrence in monsoon, GM Kumar blamed branches falling on overhead wires.

“During rainy season many time tree falls on the wire and thus power get disrupted. Though we cut branches leaning on wire, sometimes it happens,” GM Kumar said.

Asked whether it was possible to fulfil the chief minister’s dream of zero power cuts, GM Kumar said: “Zero power cut is an ideal situation. We can talk about power supply for more than 23 hours but as far as zero power cut is concerned it is not easy.”

Energy secretary Vandana Dadel, when contacted for her comments, said “work was being done as per the CM’s guidelines” but did not elaborate.

At a high-powered meeting attended by additional chief secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, principal secretary to CM Sunil Kumar Barnwal, energy secretary Vandana Dadel, chief conservator of forests Sanjay Kumar, JBVNL Rahul Purwar and DCs of districts where transmission projects are on, CM Das on July 5 had expressed grave concerns about Jharkhand’s existing power scenario, including irregular power supply, undeclared power cuts and delays in completion of power transmission projects. He had asked officials to complete pending transmission projects fast.

“We have accepted the challenge and given power connection to all houses but are facing problem in supplying power 24/7. Now it is one of our top priorities,” Das had said, asking officials not to “get stuck in files” and dispose forest clearances for transmission projects.

He had asked officials not to cut power without prior information and rectify technical problems without delay.

1,200 quintals of food grains meant for mid-day meals left to rot in Jharkhand godown

Souurc: indiatoday.in

Even as Jharkhand is reeling under growing poverty, malnutrition and starvation, over 1,200 quintals of food grains were found rotten in a warehouse at Ranchi. On investigation, glaring lapses and negligence were found as reasons leading to the massive wastage of the food grains, meant to be sent to different schools for mid-day meal.

The food grains were stocked and had arrived for the distribution among the Antyodaya Ration Card holders and 1009 quintals of cereals were supposed to be sent to different schools for mid-day meal.

The manager of the godown said that the roof of the godown was damaged and led to the leakage of rainwater during monsoon. He said that previously rejected stock was kept with the fresh food grains, and further damaged the fresh stock.

When Aajtak’s team went inside, the godown was stinking because of the rotten grains.

Food and supplies minister Saryu Rai said that despite many letters to the education department, the 1,009 quintals of cereals meant for distribution for mid-day meals were not collected, also the letters went unresponded. However, he added that erring officials would not be spared, and stringent action will be taken against the guilty.

Meanwhile, the Opposition latched on to the opportunity to grill the government. Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey accused the BJP-led state government of neglecting the interest of beneficiaries who depend on Public Distribution System for their monthly ration.

The advisor to the Supreme Court on Right to Food, Balram, alleged that the failure of the PDS system has once again been exposed. It has failed miserably to deliver, leading to the storage of food grains in the warehouse for long, leading to damage.

Headless, Naked Bodies Of 2 Children Found Buried In Jharkhand: Police

Source: ndtv.com

Latehar, Jharkhand: The headless and naked bodies of an 11-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were found in Jharkhand’s Latehar district today, the police said.

Latehar Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Jai Prakash Jha said the bodies, found buried under a pile of sand near a house, were exhumed. The heads have not been found.

The children had been missing since Wednesday and their families had searched the village for them but did not inform police, the SDO said.

The villagers noticed a part of a leg protruding from under a pile of sand this morning and they informed police.

A police team reached the spot, dug up the area and found the two naked bodies. There was a locked house nearby and the team broke into it to find bloodstains inside.

Villagers told reporters that several ”diyas’‘ (earthen lamps) and some grains were found near the bodies and they suspect the two were sacrificed. The owner of the house is on the run, the police said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Vipul Shukla said that it was merely a conjecture and more information will be revealed after the investigation is complete.