ReutersA magazine stand on a railway platform in Mumbai.An estimated 46,000 people die in India every year because of snake bites. Or, put in another way, there is one death caused by a snake bite for every two people who die of AIDS in India. Tehelka magazine has these shocking figures in a story titled “Snake Bites and Poisoned Stats.†The writer, Jay Mazoomdaar, says that scores of these snake bite deaths aren't present in government reports partly because few of the victims reach hospitals.
Superstition and a lack of awareness contribute to the death count. Life-saving snake antivenom serum is expensive and in short supply.
“Basic preca utions such as using shoes, torches and mosquito nets, avoiding sleeping on the ground or ridding the household of garbage and courtyards of piled-up debris can drastically reduce instances of snake bites,†Mr. Mazoomdaar notes.
“To effectively combat the menace of snake bite, the Union government must first acknowledge the crisis,†the story says.
It must be declared a notifiable disease that makes reporting of deaths mandatory. We need resources to promote research, spread awareness, develop quality serum, ensure its availability in remote villages and build medical infrastructure to handle snake bite.
Open magazine ran a cover story this week on the man of the moment: Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of arguably the most powerful politician in India today, Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Vadra is in the headlines because of recent allegations that he's had shady business dealings with a real estate company. The a rticle says that Mr. Vadra's silence about the allegations speaks volumes, especially because he's spoken out in the past to counter public perception that he was using the Gandhi family's influence. It notes that Mr. Vadra, who is married to Mrs. Gandhi's daughter, Priyanka, had even issued a public notice once severing ties with his father, Rajindra Vadra, and brother, Richard:
In a subsequent interview, Robert claimed that his move was pre-emptive, aimed at stopping the two, especially his brother, Richard, in their tracks. “When people come to me for favors, I immediately say ‘no.' I mind my own business. It's not a large one. But it helps me make ends meet and I have a happy life. That's what it's all about. Now, after this advertisement, people who approach [my relatives] will stop doing so. All this will stop. It's not just my relatives, it's also people who think they can get to me and Priyanka. And that's not going to happen. In the long run, t his advertisement was a smart idea. It's better to act now before anyone is hurt.â€
Today, Mr. Vadra cannot make the same claims about his business. The question is not whether his business makes ends meets, or even if he leads a happy life. What matters today is his prolonged silence on charges of far greater impropriety. In a country committed in principle to its citizens' right to information, and one long menaced by the phenomenon of power peddling, people at large have a right to know how Robert Vadra's businesses grew so quickly once the U.P.A. was in power.
Down to Earth magazine digs deep into a government-ordered independent report on illegal mining in Goa. More than half the iron ore exported from India comes from Goa, the article says. The story, “Irongate Opened,†says that the report accuses both the state and the environment ministry of “allowing illegal mining in the state, putting the region's environment and ecology at risk.â€
“The common illegalities the report points to are mining without license, mining outside lease area and transporting minerals illegally,†the story notes.
In response to the report, the state and environment ministry have suspended environmental clearances and operations of 93 of the 337 mining leases in Goa, the article says.
