Health

Oblesh speaks about how the necessity of sanitation created the task of manual scavenging, and how the affluent class used to define a lower caste to undertake this task of manual scavenging. This necessity perpetrated the exploitation of the castes that has spanned generations. And that this is still practiced today, even though the original necessity of sanitation has been mostly been addressed by modern toilets. He says it is important to have proper sanitation infrastructure in place so that the necessity is meet, this task of manual scavenging will no longer be relevant and die away by itself.  

Saturday dawned for The Girl and promised fun on the run: Interview assistance in Jayanagar for Srinivas Alavilli's pet project, ICDS. Sponge and soak in the water management seminar at Church Street for Meera Kri's pet project, Citizen Matters. Discussion on Mid-day meals in public schools in Kanakapura with Ramamurthy (founder of Sikhshana), his pet project.   Halfway through recording the interview with the ICDS teacher, The Girl realised she needed to record attendance at the bathroom soon. As they finished up, she spied the Anganwadi bathroom outside on the open terrace. A rusty tin door hinged to a suspiciously…

Representative Image. Photo courtesy: Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons 10-Sep-2016. Train number 17604 Kachiguda Express. I was on my way to Hyderabad from Bangalore. It was around 11.15 pm, I woke up from my already disturbed sleep for two reasons.  Firstly, the roof lights were on. Secondly, amidst the quiet humming noise of the AC sleeper coach and the constant titak-titak-titak-titak from the running train, I heard someone coughing.  When I opened my eyes, I saw a lady in burqa seated on the side lower berth with a man sitting next to her. The man was holding a kerchief to…

Lessons I Learnt While Dealing with my Father’s Cancer Treatment Six months ago, my father was diagnosed with grade 3 squamous cell carcinoma - that’s the fancier name for oral cancer.  Since that day, life has not been the same for me and my family.  When they say there is life before cancer diagnosis and a life after, you better believe it. There are bunch of things I learnt, while my father was being treated for it – think of this as a ready-reckoner to take care of a cancer patient. I will pray to God that you won’t ever…

New campaign eyes a Hepatitis C-free Chennai It is not one of those killers that are widely discussed or feared by the masses, but an estimated 80,000 people in Chennai currently live with the insidious Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), one of the leading causes of liver cancer. What is even more alarming is that a majority do not even know that they have it. The good news, however, is that it may not be long before the city witnesses a new programme in action, that could well set an example for the world in how to effectively rid geographies of…

Blood donation is a simple, yet profound gesture - donate to an anonymous recipient, and who knows, someday an anonymous donor will save the life of someone close to you! Donate blood regularly, and be assured that there are no side effects as long as you follow the Do's and Dont's given below. Essential Information regarding Blood Donation Age and weight of eligible donors : 18-60 years, 45 kg or more Hemoglobin : will be checked on the spot, must be 12.5 or higher Quantity drawn : Donors upto 50kg - 350CC for single bag, will be used as whole…

What do you generally do when it rains? Curl up on a chair with your favourite book and watch the tiny droplets trickle down the window? Or are you fighting a battle to not reach into your pocket to find that lighter to light a cigarette? Well, if you’re the second kind, we’re here to tell you why you should kick the butt for good this World No Tobacco Day. What’s your reason? “I’m a social smoker”, says Venkat (name changed on request), a 23-year old college student. Smoking gives you a sensation, this becomes addictive”, adds Ashwin Aravind, another…

File picture of a slum near HSR Layout. Pic: Akshatha M International Symposium on Health in Slums 2016 was held in Smrithi Auditorium, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Hebbal on April 30, 2016. This was a first-of-its-kind event provided a platform for health researchers, BBMP Medical Officer and NGOs involved in various aspect of health in slums. The population for study involved migrant and non-migrant populations. This was an opportunity to connect the investigators, with questions pertaining to the health and wellbeing of the slum dwellers, with those willing to offer solutions in the form cost-effective options of fuel, energy, technology and…

Citizen Matters had earlier reported that dengue cases in Bengaluru are severely under-reported, that the official dengue figures are only a fraction of the actual numbers. But when it comes to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, heart diseases, respiratory diseases etc., the situation is worse - these diseases are not tracked at all in the city. NCDs are now emerging as the leading cause of deaths in India, since communicable diseases like malaria and TB are under better control. But in Bengaluru, like in the rest of the country, no one is tracking them. Without data on these diseases, policy-making…

How clean do you think Bengaluru is? Would you like to rate the city in terms of its hygiene and sanitation? If yes, then here is an opportunity for you to participate in the Swachh Bharath Mission survey and rank your city. The Central government has taken up a new cleanliness survey of 75 major cities across the country under its ambitious Swachh Bharath Mission. With Bengaluru being one of the 75 cities, city-dwellers who are happy or unhappy about the city's solid waste management and sanitation scenario can voluntarily be a part of the survey. For this, all you…