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Sunday 9 August 2009

Six dead, 1,000 afflicted with cerebral malaria in Bihar

Six people have died and at least 1,000 were suffering from cerebral malaria in state of Bihar, news reports said Sunday.

All the victims were residents of Haveli Kharagpur area of Munger district, about 200 kilometres west of state capital Patna.

At least 80 villages in the area had reported cases of cerebral malaria, district health official RN Pandey was quoted as saying.

Local residents said at least 30 people including several children had succumbed to the disease.

"We are taking all measures on war-footing to provide medical care to affected people and spraying DDT in the villages," Munger district civil surgeon KC Singh said.

Cerebral malaria is caused by a type of mosquito bite and can be fatal if not treated in time. The disease, which causes high fever, can affect the brain.

A team of federal health officials are visiting the affected villages to assess the situation.

Senior Bihar health official RN Mishra said malaria was endemic in the hilly area along the border of Bihar and Jharkhand state.

Malaria parasite-carrying mosquitos tend to breed in rainwater that collects in pits and crags in the hill area during the monsoon season.

The region is largely inhabited by poor tribal people and has few hospitals or clinics.link

Most areas of Bihar to be declared 'calamity-hit' tomorrow

Chief minister Nitish Kumar today said that most parts of Bihar will be declared 'calamity-hit' tomorrow in the wake of deficient rainfalls in the state.

Emerging from an all-party meeting here, Kumar asked prime minister Manmohan Singh to immediately send a ministerial team to the state to assess the magnitude of the damage due to calamity and recommend for financial package.

The representatives of all the political parties who turned up in the all-party meeting voiced unanimity over the issue of tackling severe drought conditions, Kumar told reporters.

He said a special meeting of the state cabinet will take place tomorrow to specify the areas to be declared calamity-hit in keeping with the guidelines under the Disaster Management Act and the National Calamity Fund (NCF).link

Friday 7 August 2009

Cerebral malaria kills 25 in Munger

A Central team Friday visited the eastern state of Bihar to take stock of the situation in cerebral malaria-hit Munger district even as the death toll due to the disease rose to 25.

The four-member panel headed by joint director of Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Dr S N Sharma would assist in providing medical care to the affected people, Munger District Malaria Officer B Sahu said.

Five more children succumbed to cerebral malaria during last two days in Kharagpur sub-division and Dharhara block in the district, he said, adding that the disease has so far claimed 25 lives and affected more than 1,500 others.

"Out of the 1,450 people whose serum samples were tested, 565 were positive," Sahu said.link

Administration Gears up for Pitripaksha Mela

The core committee of the annual Pitripaksha Mela in Patna on Thursday held a high-level meeting to review the administration's preparedness for the two-week religious event in Gaya that attracts thousands of visitors each year from across the globe.

The fair, known for 'Pind Daan', a Hindu ritual intended to free the soul of one's ancestors, opens on September 3.

Land Reform and Revenue Minister Narendra Narayan Yadav, who also heads the Fair committee, said that the government has made elaborate arrangement to ensure non-stop supply of electricity and water supply in the region and has appointed a number of health officials to maintain a clean and safe environment throughout the period of the fair.

Yadav said that 15 transformers were to be replaced and 20 others were to be secured to maintain uninterrupted supply of electricity in Gaya. He further said that the officials were directed to ensure all tube wells in the region were operating smoothly and health camps were set up in each locality to effectively handle any health-related issues.

The government has also arranged for additional food inspectors in Gaya who would conduct checks at various hotels and restaurants to ensure utmost hygiene is maintained at all places and ambulances are available round-the-clock to deal with any emergency.

PHED Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Public Relations Minister Ramnath Thakur, Road Construction Minister Prem Kumar, and a number of top officials attended the meeting.link

Handloom products buyer-seller meet in Patna from Aug 8

A buyer-seller meet to promote the handloom and silk industry in the state of Bihar is being jointly organised by the Government of Bihar and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Cluster Development Initiative Ltd.

This meet will be held during August 8-10 at Hotel Maurya in Patna and will be inaugurated by the Minister of Industries, Govt of Bihar and will be presided by Principal Secretary, Department of Industries, Bihar in presence of Additional Commisioner (Handlooms), Government of India.

A pool of buyers from countries like Canada, UAE and Bangladesh along with about ten buyers from India will be participating in this meet.

The clusters involved in this buyer seller meet are Bihar Sharif, Nalanda; Sigori, Patna; Manpur, Gaya; Bhuwara, Madhubani; Katoria, Banka; Hussainabad, Nathnagar, Champa Nagar and Kharik Bazaar, all in Bhagalapur.

On showcase will be handloom products made by weavers of Bihar. Amongst the products to be on display are high and medium end silk and silk mix materials for furnishing, dress materials, sarees, dupattas etc. (tasar, mulberry, linen etc.) from Bhagalpur region.

Also on view from Bhagalpur region will be low and medium end cotton products like dress material, dhoti, towels, lungi etc, tasar and cotton dress materials like kurta, shirting, bedsheets from Gaya and Nalanda.

Beautiful cotton dress materials from Patna and Madhubani including kurtas will also be on display at the nine stalls to be set up at the buyer-seller meet to be organised in the capital city of Bihar.link

Swine flu alert in Bihar

The Bihar government has sounded a swine flu alert in the state, particularly in towns along the Indo-Nepal international border.

"A swine flu alert has been sounded in Bihar, especially in border towns of Raxaul and Jogbani, besides Gaya,"state Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav said.

The pilgrim town of Gaya has a number of international flights, he said, adding that special arrangements have been made for flu tests in the state.