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लखनऊ: पानी की समस्या से निपटने के लिए वेबमिनार का आयोजन

लखनऊ: भीमराव अंबेडकर विश्वविद्यालय लखनऊ के पर्यावरण विज्ञान विभाग द्वारा भूजल सप्ताह का आयोजन किया जा रहा है। 22 जुलाई 2021 तक चलने वाले इस कार्यक्रम में आज दिनांक 19 जुलाई 2021 को राष्ट्रीय वेबिनार का आयोजन किया गया। वेबिनार का हुआ आयोजन यह वेबिनार “अंडरस्टैंडिंग द रोल ऑफ ग्राउंड वाटर इन अर्बन डेवलपमेंट” विषय पर आयोजित किया गया। वेबिनार विश्वविद्यालय के कुलपति आचार्य संजय सिंह के संरक्षण में आयोजित हुआ। भूजल से पानी की आ रही समस्या वेबिनार के मुख्य वक्ता डॉ सुरेश के. रोहिला, सीनियर डायरेक्टर, सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट, नई दिल्ली ने वेबिनार में शहरी क्षेत्रों में जल प्रबंधन और सतत शहरी विकास से जुड़े विभिन्न मुद्दों पर चर्चा की। उन्होंने बताया कि किस तरह से भारत में शहरी क्षेत्रों में इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर और अन्य विकास कार्यों में अनियमित भूजल के प्रयोग से पीने के पानी की समस्या खड़ी हो गई है। अच्छी बारिश के बाद भी पानी समस्या उन्होंने विभिन्न शहरों की हाइड्रोलॉजिकल एवं जियोलॉजिकल पहलुओं की जानकारी के आधार पर जल संरक्षण व संचयन की योजना बनाने, बेहतर शहरी विकास योजना, भूजल के सतत प्रयोग, जल निकायों का सर्वेक्षण के बाद उसके विकास से जुड़ी योजनाएं बनाने एवं वाटर रिचार्ज से जुड़े कई अहम सुझाव भी दिए। विश्वविद्यालय के डीन एकेडमिक अफेयर्स प्रोफेसर राणा प्रताप सिंह ने अपने अध्यक्षीय उद्बोधन में भूजल से जुड़ी कई समस्याओं पर चर्चा करते हुए कहा कि अलग-अलग शहरों की भूजल से जुड़ी कोई भी माइक्रो लेवल स्टडी उपलब्ध न होने के कारण सही जल संरक्षण योजना तैयार नहीं हो पाती। उन्होंने बेहतर जल संरक्षण योजना बनाने के साथ ही उसके सख्ती से पालन की आवश्यकता पर बल दिया। पर्यावरण विज्ञान विभाग के अध्यक्ष नवीन कुमार अरोरा ने कार्यक्रम में सभी का स्वागत करते हुए बताया कि अच्छी बारिश के बाद भी हम पानी की समस्या झेल रहे है। जिसका मुख्य कारण वाटर रिचार्ज, रीसायकल और रेन वाटर हार्वेस्टिंग के नियमों का पालन नहीं होना है। इसके साथ ही हमें बेहतर जल प्रबंधन नीतियों की भी आवश्यकता है। वेंकटेश दत्ता ने मुख्य वक्ता का परिचय प्रस्तुत किया। साथ ही उन्होंने बताया कि इस भूजल सप्ताह में विवि द्वारा कई कार्य किये जा रहे हैं। विवि द्वारा गोद लिए गए पांच गांवों में जल की गुणवत्ता जांचने के साथ ही जल निकायों की स्थिति का भी सर्वेक्षण किया जा रहा है। लोगों को जल संरक्षण के प्रति जागरूक भी किया जा रहा है। कार्यक्रम का संचालन राजश्री द्वारा किया गया। इस अवसर पर कार्यक्रम में आयोजन मंडल के सदस्य एसके द्विवेदी, प्रो. शिखा, डॉ. जीवन सिंह, डॉ. नरेंद्र कुमार, एन.क.एस मोरे समेत विवि के अन्य शिक्षक, विद्यार्थी एवं शोध छात्र उपस्थित रहे। कार्यक्रम के अंत में डॉ राजश्री ने सभी को धन्यवाद ज्ञापित किया। भूजल सप्ताह में विवि के विद्यार्थियों के लिए “वाटर कंसर्वेशन इज़ ए रेसोल्यूशन, देयर इज़ नो ऑप्शन ऑफ इट” विषय पर एक पोस्टर प्रतियोगिता का आयोजन भी किया गया है। इच्छुक विद्यार्थी दिनांक 21 जुलाई 2021 तक दिए गए विषय पर अपने द्वारा बनाये गए पोस्टर eventsdes2021@gmail.com पर भेज सकते हैं। सर्वश्रेष्ठ तीन चयनित विजेताओं को सर्टिफिकेट प्रदान किया जाएगा।

Lightning strikes jump by 34%; experts point to climate change

India saw 18.5 million lightning strikes between April 2020 and March 2021, marking a significant jump of 34% from the 13.8 million strikes that occurred over the corresponding period in the previous year. This data has been released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Down to Earth magazine. Experts have linked the worrying surge to unchecked urbanization and climate change. In this article 1,697 people lost their lives due to lightning Lightning is single-largest killer among natural disasters: NDMA Climate change may be leading to more lightning incidents Growing forest fires also a cause for concern Global warming is also responsible What steps has India taken to reduce impact? How can you protect yourself from lightning strikes? Details 1,697 people lost their lives due to lightning 1,697 people lost their lives due to lightning A total of 1,697 people were killed after being struck by lightning strikes during the said period. States and union territories such as West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Puducherry have witnessed a sudden surge in lightning incidents in recent months. Of them, Punjab saw the biggest spurt of 331% in such incidents. Details Lightning is single-largest killer among natural disasters: NDMA Lightning is single-largest killer among natural disasters: NDMA The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has labeled thunderstorms accompanied by lightning strikes as the single-largest killers among natural disasters in India. In fact, lightning strikes have been killing 2,000 people, on an average, every year, since 2004, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Prior to 2004, less than 1,500 such deaths were reported annually. Concerns Climate change may be leading to more lightning incidents Climate change may be leading to more lightning incidents Experts have warned that the significant increase in lightning incidents is due to climate change. "There is growing scientific evidence that climate change may be sparking more lightning across the world. Rapid urbanization and population growth have guaranteed an intensification of human exposure to lightning hazards," Down To Earth Managing Editor Richard Mahapatra said, according to Hindustan Times. Concerns Growing forest fires also a cause for concern Growing forest fires around the world have also been blamed for the surge in lightning incidents, studies have revealed. "In May 2021, researchers in Australia linked excess CCN (Cloud Condensation Nuclei) to the increased number of lightning strikes during the 2019-20 Australia forest fires," said Kiran Pandey, the program director of CSE's environmental resources unit. Information Global warming is also responsible In 2015, a study by the California University had projected that an increase in the average global temperature by 1º Celsius would raise the frequency of lightning by as much as 12%. Measures What steps has India taken to reduce impact? What steps has India taken to reduce impact? However, India has taken some measures to lower the injuries and fatalities linked to lightning strikes. Lightning forecasts were started by the IMD from April 1, 2019. Further, the Lightning India Resilient Campaign (LRIC), a joint initiative of several government bodies, has set an aim to reduce the number of deaths from lightning strikes to less than 1,200 per year by 2022. Precautions How can you protect yourself from lightning strikes? Experts recommend that people find shelter indoors in case of lightning. It is advisable to suspend outdoor activities until at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder. You should call emergency services if needed as it is safe to use mobile phones during lightning. Victims should be moved to a safer location as soon as possible.

'Bolt From The Blue' - Lightning Strikes Killing More People Than Ever !

New Delhi, July 19 (TNA) The number and frequency of lightning strikes is increasing globally. The proverbial bolts from the blue are killing more people every subsequent year. Between April 2020 and March 2021, 18.5 million lightning strikes were recorded in India. This was a 34 per cent increase from the 13.8 million strikes between April 2019 and March 2020. These statistics were shared at a webinar on lightning strikes recently organised by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth magazine. The webinar attempted to understand why lightning strikes were increasing in numbers, and their connection to climate change and growing urbanisation. Punjab, UP On The 'Hit List' Some of the states that have been at the receiving end of these strikes are Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. In Punjab, the increase in number of lightning strikes has been a staggering 331 per cent annually, while in Bihar — where 401 people lost their lives to lightning strikes during the year — there was a 168 per cent rise. Overall, 1,697 people were struck down dead by lightning in India between March 2020 and April 2021. “There is growing scientific evidence that climate change may be sparking more lightning across the world. Rapid urbanisation and population growth have guaranteed an intensification of human exposure to lightning hazard,” says Down To Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra. The evidence Enough global studies are now emerging about this phenomenon. A 2015 California University study has projected that an increase in average global temperatures by 1ºC would increase the frequency of lightning by 12 per cent. Another paper, soon to be published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, warns that the frequency and intensity of lightning strikes in India are expected to increase by 10-25 per cent and 15-50 per cent respectively by the end of the century. A foreboding dimension of the surge in lightning strike numbers is their link to forest fires. “Scientists from the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have studied the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in different weather conditions in the central Himalayan region. They have found a five-time higher concentration of CCN in the atmosphere during forest fires as against during rains. In May 2021, researchers in Australia linked excess CCN to the increased number of lightning strikes during the 2019-20 Australia forest fires,” says Kiran Pandey, programme director of CSE’s environmental resources unit. What can be done to prevent deaths? Some progress has been made to counter the adverse effects of lightning strikes. The rise in fatalities has prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019. Lightning India Resilient Campaign (LRIC), a joint initiative of several bodies such as Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), National Disaster Management Authority, IMD, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and others aims to reduce the number of deaths due to lightning strikes to less than 1,200 a year by 2022. “The LRIC says its campaign has been successful in bringing down deaths by more than 60 per cent within two years. Dedicated efforts by governments of states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have led to a 70 per cent reduction in fatalities,” says Akshit Sangomla, senior reporter with Down To Earth. “The lightning incidents recorded reveal that seasonality of lightning is different for different states. Therefore, it is important that the lightning risk management programme for each state is customised according to the seasonality, intensity and frequency of lightning. States should undertake lightning micro-zonation for the regions inside their boundaries, depending on their geography, to handle the disaster and death risks better. These are LRIC’s recommendations and they make a lot of sense,” says Pandey. Says Mahapatra: “We may not be able to prevent every single lightning fatality, but we can definitely decrease their number substantially. The first step is to create general awareness about some universal safe practices, for example, to stay indoors for up to 30 minutes after the last flash if the time between a lightning flash and thunder is less than 30 seconds. The next steps would involve making use of the evolving science and technology on the subject and decentralising predictions and risk management.”

Lightning strikes in India see 34% rise than previous year, finds CSE study

Experts find link between lightning strikes and climate change trigerred by unchecked urbanisation. They feel following safe practices can reduce fatalities. Between April 2020 and March this year, India witnessed 18.5 million lightning strikes, marking a significant 37% increase in 13.8 million bolts from the blue in the similar period the previous year, a study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down to Earth found. Laying stress on the trend that the number and frequency of lightning strikes have increased globally, the environment think-tank attempted to find out their link with climate change and unchecked urbanisation. As many as 1,697 people were killed after they were struck by lightning between March last year and April this year. Experts are of view that the increase in incidents of lightning strikes are owing to climate change. “There is growing scientific evidence that climate change may be sparking more lightning across the world. Rapid urbanisation and population growth have guaranteed an intensification of human exposure to lightning hazard,” says Down To Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra. In recent months states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry have seen a sudden spurt in incidents of lightning strikes. Punjab has seen an exponential 331% annual rise in such incidents while in Bihar — where 401 people lost their lives to lightning strikes during the year — recodes a 168% rise. National Disaster Management Authority listed thunderstorms accompanied by lightning strikes (usually in the pre-monsoon and monsoon months) are the single-largest killers among natural disasters in India. A study conducted by California University in 2015 projected that a rise in average global temperatures by 1ºC would increase the frequency of lightning by least 12%. A soon-to-be-published paper in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics also cautioned that the frequency of lightning strikes in India are expected to increase by 10% to 25% every year and could grow by 50% by the turn of the century. Experts have found that a foreboding dimension of the rise in incidents of lightning strike is their link to growing forest fires. “Scientists from the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have studied the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in different weather conditions in the central Himalayan region. They have found a five-time higher concentration of CCN in the atmosphere during forest fires as against during rains. In May 2021, researchers in Australia linked excess CCN to the increased number of lightning strikes during the 2019-20 Australia forest fires,” says Kiran Pandey, programme director of CSE’s environmental resources unit. However, India has made some progress to mitigate the adverse effects of lightning strikes. The rise in fatalities prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019. Lightning India Resilient Campaign (LRIC), a joint initiative of several bodies such as Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), National Disaster Management Authority, IMD, Union ministry of earth sciences and others aims to reduce the number of deaths due to lightning strikes to less than 1,200 a year by 2022. A senior reporter with Down to Earth, Akshit Sangomla said the LRIC campaign helped bring down lightning-related deaths by more than 60% within two years of its launch. “Dedicated efforts by governments of states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have led to a 70% reduction in fatalities,” Sangomla added. CSE’ Kiran Pandey said the recorded incidents of lightning revealed that seasonality of bolt is different each state, and laid stress that the lightning risk management programme is customised for each state according to their seasonality, frequency of occurrence and their intensity. “States should undertake lightning micro-zonation for the regions inside their boundaries, depending on their geography, to handle the disaster and death risks better. These are LRIC’s recommendations and they make a lot of sense,” says Pandey. Mahapatra was of the view that even though fatalities from lightning strikes cannot be reduced to zero, their numbers can definitely be decreased. He spoke on the need to create general awareness about universal safe practices, such as staying indoors for up to 30 minutes after the last flash if the time between a lightning flash and thunder is less than 30 seconds. “The next steps would involve making use of the evolving science and technology on the subject and decentralising predictions and risk management,” Mahapatra said.

‘Punjab witnessed 331% increase in lightning strikes’

Bathinda: The number and frequency of lightning strikes is increasing globally with bolts from the blue killing more people every subsequent year, data shows. Between April 2020 and March 2021, 18.5 million lightning strikes were recorded in India, a 34% rise over 13.8 million strikes between April 2019 and March 2020. These statistics were shared at a webinar on lightning, organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth magazine. Some of the states at the receiving end of these strikes are Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. It was claimed that in Punjab, the increase in number of lightning strikes has been a staggering 331% annually, while in Bihar — where 401 people lost their lives to lightning strikes during the year — there was a 168% rise. Overall, 1,697 people were struck down dead by lightning in India between March 2020 and April 2021. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote Login to view result “There is growing scientific evidence that climate change may be sparking more lightning across the world. Rapid urbanisation and population growth have guaranteed an intensification of human exposure to lightning hazard,” says Down To Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra. A 2015 California University study has projected that an increase in average global temperatures by 1ºC would increase the frequency of lightning by 12%. Another paper, soon to be published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, warns that the frequency and intensity of lightning strikes in India are expected to increase by 15-50% respectively by the end of the century. A foreboding dimension of the surge in lightning strike numbers is their link to forest fires. “Scientists from the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have studied the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in different weather conditions in the central Himalayan region. They have found a five-time higher concentration of CCN in the atmosphere during forest fires as against during rains. In May 2021, researchers in Australia linked excess CCN to the increased number of lightning strikes during the 2019-20 Australia forest fires,” says Kiran Pandey, programme director of CSE’s environmental resources unit. Some progress has been made to counter the adverse effects of lightning strikes. The rise in fatalities has prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019. Lightning India Resilient Campaign (LRIC), a joint initiative of several bodies such as Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), National Disaster Management Authority, IMD, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and others aims to reduce the number of deaths due to lightning strikes to less than 1,200 a year by 2022. “The LRIC says its campaign has been successful in bringing down deaths by more than 60% within two years. Dedicated efforts by governments of states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have led to a 70% reduction in fatalities,” webinar was told. “The lightning incidents recorded reveal that seasonality of lightning is different for different states. Therefore, it is important that the lightning risk management programme for each state is customised according to the seasonality, intensity and frequency of lightning. States should undertake lightning micro-zonation for the regions inside their boundaries, depending on their geography, to handle the disaster and death risks better. These are LRIC’s recommendations,” says Pandey.

Cocktail drug cures Covid in 2-3 days, but at steep cost

Priced at Rs 1.19L, set of 2 monoclonal antibodies can treat 2 patients BENGALURU: Monoclonal antibodies, a single-shot drug cocktail given to former US President Donald Trump against Covid, is gaining popularity in Karnataka, as doctors and patients vouch for its effectiveness in preventing deaths. Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru alone has administered this drug on more than 80 patients, and seen all of them recover. However, researchers call for more such drugs so they become affordable. “I have myself administered this miracle drug on nearly 80 patients, and have seen all of them recover in 24-48 hours. It is unfortunate that this drug was not available during the peak of the second wave, or we would not have seen so many hospital admissions or deaths among those who could afford this treatment,” said Dr Sathyanarayana Mysore, pulmonologist, Manipal Hospitals. Last November, the US FDA issued emergency use authorisation to REGEN-COV, which contains two monoclonal antibodies — casirivimab and imdevimab — to be administered together for treating mild to moderate Covid patients. India granted emergency use authorisation in May. Therapy is directed against the spike of protein of SARS-CoV2. “I have treated 4-5 patients. It reduces the chances of hospitalisation by 70% in patients with mild to moderate symptoms. The cocktail blocks the virus’s attachment and subsequent entry into human cells,” said Dr Sanjay Gururaj, consultant physician, Shanti Hospital and Research Centre. A pack of REGEN-COV contains one vial of casirivimab (1200mg) and one vial of imdevimab (1200mg) and is priced at Rs 1.19 lakh. One pack can be used for two patients, thus the cost per patient comes to Rs 59,750. Some doctors have refrained from using this due to the cost. However, Dr Sathyanarayana says, “If the medicine is prescribed at the right time, the patient can be saved from the stage of needing oxygen and ICU bed, which cost more than what the medicine does.” Meanwhile, a few doctors don’t want to administer this as it has been used only on an experimental basis. Dr Shashikiran Umapathy of Manipal, Udupi, says, “We stick to anticoagulants and medicines which we have used in the first wave, and seen good success rate, including Remdesivir.” At a recent webinar organised by Centre for Science and Environment, Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation, Soumya Swaminathan said while the world had moved fast on vaccines, not much was being done on the therapeutics front for Covid. “There are no antivirals, as such, and not many drugs that can be prescribed for patients in the early stage of Covid. All we have is a set of two drugs — corticosteroids and interleukin-6 blockers — for severe patients. Monoclonal antibodies may be given to patients before reaching the severe stage, but it is a costly cocktail of treatment,” she said. WHO CAN BE GIVEN THE DRUG, AND WHEN? Earlier the better, mostly on Day 5 of onset of symptoms. Has been given up to 10 days too Patient should be at risk of progressing to worse symptoms, onset of cytokine storm Aged above 65, in most cases. Technically, anyone above 14 can be given ‘At risk’ people -- those with neurological illness, taking immunosuppressives, have coronary artery disease, renal issues, malignancy etc Oxygen level should not be at risk Can be even given as day care treatment Patient should come to hospital with RT-PCR positive report within 72 hours, for maximum benefit What are monoclonal antibodies? When our bodies are attacked by an infection caused by viruses or bacteria, they produce natural antibodies or proteins to fight back. These antibodies are crucial in our immune system’s defence mechanism. Monoclonal antibodies are similar to natural antibodies, except they are laboratory-made. They are designed to target a specific disease and are often referred to as ‘designer antibodies’.

Only 1 per cent of population in low-income countries vaccinated; in high-income nations, the figure is 48.3 per cent – say experts at CSE-Down To Earth global webinar

The vaccination drive to combat Covid-19 is one of the most anticipated events of our times, but severe vaccine “apartheid” and inequity across the world is threatening to derail the fight against the virus – said experts speaking at a global webinar here today. Covid-19 has already infected 184,572,371 people globally and claimed 3,997,640 lives. A mere 24.7 per cent of the world population has received at least one dose till date. However, most of these doses have been hogged by the rich countries. At the webinar on ‘Vaccines for all’, some of the world’s top experts came together to examine the race between the virus, its variants and vaccines, and the question of inequity. The webinar was addressed by Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, World Health Organization; Shabir A Madhi, professor of vaccinology and dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Leena Menghaney, regional head (South Asia), Access Campaign for Medicines Sans Frontiers; and Vibha Varshney, associate editor, Down To Earth. CSE director general Dr. Sunita Narain anchored the discussions. Speaking at the webinar, Sunita Narain pointed out: “As early as April 2020, COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access or COVAX, an alliance between WHO, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, was set up to accelerate the development and production of and equitable access to vaccines. Yet, a year later, shortages and inequitable distribution of doses threatens to derail this largest vaccination campaign the world has ever seen.” Gross inequity For an estimated global adult population of 5.5 billion, 11 billion vaccine doses are needed. Of this, 3.32 billion doses have already been administered. “The industry seems to have promised overambitious production numbers without actually setting its house in order. The unavailability of enough raw materials is likely to make matters worse,” says Vibha Varshney. About 48.3 per cent of people in high-income countries have been vaccinated. The percentage drops to 33.8, 13.2 and a mere 1 per cent in middle-income, lower-middle income and low-income countries, respectively. Under COVAX (with 180 participating countries) rich countries pay for vaccines, and 92 low- and middle-income countries are subsidised. Serum Institute of India (SII) has to provide one billion of the doses under COVAX. The initiative has been facing acute shortfall after SII slipped on the delivery timeline because of a surge in cases in India. COVAX has also been criticised for allocating vaccines in proportion to population sizes, which is not the best public health metric. As a result, it has short-changed nations in desperate need of vaccines, while providing it to others that have comparatively fewer cases. The alliance also does not consider countries’ capacities to roll out massive immunisation campaigns,” says Down To Earth in a report it has published earlier. What the WHO is saying – Soumya Swaminathan Speaking at the webinar, Swaminathan pointed out that the ongoing spike in many countries is worrying mainly because the cases of Delta variant are rising sharply. “There had been a hope that the number of daily deaths will decrease, but they have been increasing as well,” she said. Swaminathan said COVAX has mobilized significant amount of resources and access to the vaccines, but due to supply considerations, most of the roll-out is now going to happen in the last quarter of 2021. She also listed some of the reasons for the relatively slow uptake of the vaccines — lack of knowledge and information, operational issues, and apprehensions about vaccination, among others. “WHO’s initial 20 per cent goal of vaccine coverage was aimed at covering the vulnerable in each country, the idea being that healthcare and frontline workers and the elderly should be covered so that the mortality rate is brought down. The goal has now been revised to 40 per cent coverage in each country by the end of this year, and 70 per cent by the middle of the next year,” she said. Swaminathan thinks the big challenge in vaccine research is “the need for well-designed effectiveness trials in multiple countries”. The only way to increase supplies right now, according to her, is dose-sharing by countries that have already vaccinated more than 40 per cent of their population. The question of TRIPS and Big Pharma Perhaps the biggest spanner in the works of the vaccination drive are powerful multinational pharmaceutical companies encouraged by prevaricating governments of high-income countries. Big Pharma is not willing to part with scientific know-how on the vaccines. They are protected by World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s strict trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS). While it is true that many developing nations do not have the capacity to manufacture vaccines, even those that do are seriously hampered by TRIPS. “When COVAX was set up, the world’s richest countries went ahead and donated to COVAX but then tied up supplies to themselves first. The disparity in access that we see today is the direct result of this strategy,” said Leena Menghaney, speaking at the webinar. Developed countries could do this because of concentration of manufacturing in these geographical location and control of manufacturing through a variety of business strategies including IPR, says Menghaney. COVAX can procure only WHO-approved vaccines, explained Varshney. The UN agency has given a nod to just six of the 17 vaccines that are being administered in different countries across the world. Of these, Covishield, manufactured by SII, is the cheapest at around US $3 a dose. The other vaccines cost anywhere between $1 and $40, as manufacturers are selling them at different prices to different countries to maximise profits. How is Africa faring – the Valleys of Death In his presentation, Shabir Madhi said that cases in Africa have been grossly underreported. The continent is struggling with what has been called the two ‘Valleys of Death’. The first of these is the disease itself and its rapid spread, and the second is the unavailability of a cure or vaccine. According to Madhi: “Only 64 per cent of the vaccines available in Africa are actually being administered. Less than 3 per cent of Africans have been vaccinated.” He pointed out that Africa does not have much vaccine manufacturing capacity, and will have to depend on countries that have the capacity to share vaccines with it. “The virus is going to be with us for some time,” said Madhi. “Herd immunity is not going to be achieved soon. The focus should be to accelerate innovation so that high-risk individuals have access to the best treatment and care to protect them against severe disease and death.” Vaccines for all Says Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth: “The virus is rapidly mutating, multiplying variants and policy and logistic headaches. Four variants, named after the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, are already of serious concern. Many more are being observed closely. In the mad race between the virus and the vaccine, cooperation between nations and agencies will be crucial.” “We must free technology through TRIPS waiver and COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), augment production facilities and promote collaborations for raw materials. We must set a system for equitable distribution via COVAX by restricting hoarding, ensuring funding and increasing transparency. Vaccines must be provided free of cost and their access and delivery rate should be increased. Promotion of pandemic-appropriate behaviour to control spread needs to be continued. Only then can we hope to beat the pandemic,” says Varshney. Said webinar anchor Dr. Sunita Narain: “The virus has been a great equalizer and we must learn our lessons from it. It is impossible to try to compartmentalise our responses to a pandemic of this magnitude and scale. It will continue to be a threat as long as we don’t truly unite against it, rising over national and corporate interests. No one is safe until everyone is safe.”

Balancing Environment Protection And Post-Pandemic Growth--Challenge For New Minister

Setting the agenda for India's climate actions, cutting air pollution and ensuring transparency in environmental clearances are among the challenges facing the new environment minister Bhupender Yadav New Delhi: How will India tackle chronic environment issues such as pollution, fossil fuel dependence and degradation of natural habitats with the development imperatives of a post-pandemic world? This is the biggest challenge facing Bhupender Yadav, recently appointed the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). Yadav takes over at a time when the environment ministry has been repeatedly criticised for watering down the country's environmental safeguards, reducing the legal protection to vulnerable natural habitats, and granting clearances to hundreds of development projects that could affect national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves. The ministry's permissions for the diversion of forest land in already fragile areas and approvals for polluting mines and industries will have a direct bearing on the country's environmental health in an already warming planet, experts say. Evidence of these impacts is already available: Surface temperatures in India are rising fast due to climate change, as seen from the government's own studies; Indian cities continue to be among the most polluted in the world, and the country's global ranking on environmental performance index is among the lowest in the world. Experts told IndiaSpend that these events signal a breakdown of the regulatory framework in India and that the new minister needs to put environmental justice at the centre of government policies because it has a direct link to public health. Increasingly, the environment ministry has been treating environmental regulation as a contract between the government and project developers, excluding the people affected by these decisions, said Kanchi Kohli, senior researcher at the Delhi-based think-tank, Centre for Policy Research (CPR). "The breakdown of regulation is felt by people living around and working in these project sites who are neither involved in scrutinising the applications nor in monitoring the conditions [imposed on projects]," he said. Climate change What should figure high on the minister's policy priorities? Clarifying India's position on climate action and financial assistance needed for this ahead of the annual United Nations (UN) conference on climate change, cleaning up India's polluted air and ensuring transparent and inclusive regulatory processes, said activists and researchers. COP 26 [conference of parties, as the annual UN climate event is named] to be in held Glasgow, Scotland, in November this year is significant for two reasons: It is the first after the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and countries are expected to update and announce their plans of cutting greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. "COP 26 is around the corner and India needs to make its position clear and negotiate hard for a better world. India is also poised to be the world leader in climate, especially for the global south that lacks voice in some of these forums," said Anjal Prakash, research director and adjunct professor at Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He is also a coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, published in 2018. Protection of forests and water bodies--critical in the race against climate change and also necessary to generate sustainable employment--has to be prioritised, said Prakash. "Forests, if protected and harnessed well in a sustainable manner, could provide jobs and employment to millions of poor. [And] if forest produce is directly linked with access to open markets for tribal and forest-dependent communities, it would help in direct benefits coming to the primary producers and protectors of forests," he said. Forests feeding coal power Despite its ambitious plans to produce 450 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2030, India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, continues to depend heavily on polluting coal power. In June 2021, coal accounted for 54.31% of the installed power capacity in the country, as per the Central Electricity Authority. The Union environment ministry has a prime role in the industrial policies of the country because its clearances are mandatory for highly-polluting units such as coal mines and coal-fired power plants. Between January 2019 and December 2020, the Union environment ministry granted clearances to six coal-fired power plants of more than 500 megawatt each, per an analysis by Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), a non-profit organisation that promotes environmental justice and environmental transparency. The ministry also cleared work on 23 coal mines in this period; of these eight were new and 15 were cases of mine expansions, another analysis by LIFE showed. A total of 5,566 hectares of fresh land were diverted for these mines and of this, 1,419.3 hectares were forest land, the analysis stated. Regulations and transparency In a bid to improve its ranking in the World Bank's 'Doing Business' report which maps the regulations and permissions needed to start a venture in a country, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been reducing the time taken to obtain environmental permissions since 2014. It has relaxed several procedures for different sectors. This focus has led to the weakening of environmental regulations, as we reported here. In one of its recent regulatory tweaks, the ministry allowed polluting industries to expand their capacity and change raw materials without seeking fresh permissions as was the norm earlier. This could increase the risk of industrial disasters. There is also a need for greater transparency in regulatory changes: "There is an agenda of legal and regulatory reform in the ministry. However, there needs to be more consultations with those working on the ground. Changes cannot be made in the consultancy mode and not in a hush-hush manner," said Sanjay Upadhyay, Supreme Court advocate and environment lawyer. The "consultancy mode" Upadhyay referred to points to the ministry's recent decision to seek the services of legal firms to draft amendments to environmental laws. Kanchi Kohli of CPR alleged that the ministry routinely issues orders that bypass legal processes. "We have seen office memorandums issued that exempt projects partially or fully from legal processes. There are also executive orders which allow for regularisation of violations. The new environment minister should ask for a thorough environment and social audit of these orders and amendments," she said. Clearing the air India ranks among the five most polluted countries in the world and long-term exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to over 1.67 million annual deaths across all age-groups in India, in 2019, as per the State of Global Air report, 2020. Cleaning the country's toxic air, especially in cities, should be a top priority for Yadav, experts said. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) 2019, the NDA's flagship project, aims to reduce the concentration of particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20-30% by 2024, with 2017 as the base year. For this, the Union government has targeted 102 cities where at least one parameter consecutively exceeded National Ambient Air Quality Standards standards for five years. The NCAP's progress, though, has been tardy, and as of May 2021, not a single state in the country had prepared the mandatory state action plan, a recent analysis by LIFE showed. Under NCAP, state action plans are needed for a participatory approach which involves states, Union government ministries, local bodies and other stakeholders to address all sources of pollution. Information on state action plans was sought from 23 states to which only 17 responded and none had prepared a state action plan, the analysis said. The programme also faces the challenge of creating different action plans for cities with varying problems and including satellite settlements that contribute to urban pollution, said a December 2020 study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water and Urban Emissions. For instance, Uttar Pradesh has 15 cities covered under NCAP and except Anpara in Sonbhadra district, all have identical plans, the study noted. The study estimated that across the airsheds of 50 cities, an estimated 30% of PM 2.5 pollution (particles smaller than human hair) came from outside city boundaries. The Union environment ministry needs to take stock of the programme to understand the gaps in funding, resources, institutional preparedness and enforcement, pointed out Anumita Roy Chowdhury, the executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment. A key requirement, she added, was the preparation of a more regional approach that will address issues of common airsheds. "It is not enough to focus on Delhi or Kanpur alone. We need a plan for the entire Indo-Gangetic belt to ensure that no pollution source is unaddressed," she said.

Multi-level parking facilities now emerging as real estate asset class

These vertical developments utilize basements as car parks and the higher storeys for retail development which in turn help generate revenue and realise project costs Growing urbanisation and the raging pandemic have created opportunities to augment the infrastructure in our cities. Parking is one such asset class that can be leveraged by urban planners and realty players alike. This might come as a surprise to many that car parks annually generate a revenue of more than $20 billion, according to the International Parking Institute. However, in India, little attention has so far been paid towards the growing need for car parks even though millions of cars get sold each month. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in India, a car is parked for more than 95% of the time and is driven for less than 5%. If one were to consider the economics, car parks use, at least in the metros, valuable land, which can be monetized through urban planning and architecture. The demand is constantly rising and to accommodate rapid urbanisation, construction of multi-level parking facilities can make development more sustainable and can also have a multiplier impact on the economy. Real estate developers can leverage this opportunity to offer urban India mixed-use complexes to create facilities with multiple benefits for all users. By allocating space for offices or retail, the commercial value of these assets can be multiplied many times. This is creating multiple opportunities for revenue generation from parking facilities. --ADVERTISEMENT-- Related stories Square Yards raises Rs 185 crore from Hong Kong-based ADM Capital Noida builders seek rollback of hike in one-time lease rent, purchasable FAR charges Also, the metro cities of India, sooner or later, will exhaust opportunities for horizontal development, and a multi-level car parking system that can vertically accommodate car parks, while allowing land to be used for other use (commercial, residential, or retail) might become a necessity. Indian metros including Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have been consistently featured in the world’s top 10 most congested cities in the world for traffic. In Indian metros, the land is increasingly becoming a scarce resource. Therefore, through proper urban planning and architecture, car parks can be monetized. The financing of these facilities is not a constraint anymore and funds can be drawn from the private sector to build these structures in a public-private partnership mode. Furthermore, vehicle-free zones are also fast gaining traction with cities across the world successfully implementing them. It also creates a ripple effect on the region’s tourism and boosts commercial activities. Places like Mall Road in Shimla, MG Road in Gangtok, Chandni Chowk or nearby areas of Golden Temple in Amritsar have successfully tried the vehicle-free zone model. That being said, proactive measures taken by the government with respect to the decongestion of cities and monetizing the prime real estate through a public-private partnership model is finding favour with shoppers, businesses and tourists. It validates the business case of a land parcel that can be utilised as a car park vertically (basements), and prime real estate such as retail be developed in the higher storeys to support project costs and generate revenue so as to ensure that the government gets the targeted land value and private participants get their return on investment through project development. A car-centric development with poor parking has only left our cities cluttered and polluted. The Delhi Master Plan 2041 also stresses the need to re-organise parking facilities for maximum utilisation. The multi-level parking facilities demand lesser operational, maintenance, and construction costs and are environment-friendly with open spaces for landscaping.

OP-ED: Who’ll stop the rain?

How India’s water has been epically mismanaged It has rained non-stop all this week in my hometown of Panjim, the pocket-sized capital city of India’s smallest state. Right outside where I live, beside the estuary where the Mandovi river meets the Arabian Sea at Aguada Bay, the landscape is drenched and utterly dreamy: Sky and sea blurring into each other with sublime effect. This, of course, is the magnificent south-west monsoon, the dramatic weather event that plays out in spectacular style from June to September each year. It is the basis of our civilization, the backbone of our food security, and the wellspring of our culture. Here, we are blessed with an average of just over three metres of annual rainfall, and almost all of it will come down from the heavens in this season. But even as every patch of exposed earth explodes green, and innumerable rivulets become charged with rainwater to feed the state’s 11 rivers, there’s the troubling realization that none of it is going to be enough. This is because by the end of the year many parts of Goa will be right back into water shortage. Our situation is already pretty bad, but it’s far more dangerous right across the border in Maharashtra and Karnataka, where many districts have suffered drought conditions for several years. These are all facets of the increasingly grave, interlinked water crisis that threatens the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of South Asians. The immediate problem is not the monsoon itself. As multiple scientists from three countries (led by Steven Clemens of Brown University) describe in “Remote and local drivers of Pleistocene South Asian summer monsoon precipitation: A test for future predictions,” their research article published in Science last month: “South Asian precipitation amount and extreme variability are predicted to increase due to thermodynamic effects of increased 21st century greenhouse gases.” Put more simply, the fact of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will actually result in more and heavier rainfall from the south-west monsoon for the time being, with the caveat that all this increased precipitation will arrive in more intense bursts of extreme weather. We can see that this is already happening: Each rainy season of the past five years has been accompanied by devastating storms that have wrought immense damage in multiple locations (including Goa just weeks ago). But if it isn’t due to diminished rainfall, how is it that India -- and more broadly, South Asia -- still has such an entrenched water crisis? 2021/07/x-90-1626205920318.png Like so many other problems in our part of the world, it’s due almost entirely to incompetence and epic mismanagement by an entire generation of elites that has wilfully destroyed the age-old water-harvesting systems that sustained their forbears, while installing unsustainably short-sighted and rapacious practices that have brought us -- perhaps irredeemably -- to the brink of disaster. This is the story of Mumbai and Bangalore, but also Karachi and Dhaka, and my once-idyllic Panjim as well: Polluted wells, concretized wetlands, paved-over lakes, encroached rivers and streams, and absurdly inadequate drainage. When it rains it floods, but the water table still doesn’t get replenished. All the while, borewells go deeper, buildings rise higher, and urbanization proceeds unstoppably. It’s a regional issue, but it also has to be acknowledged that no country in the world has depleted its groundwater more carelessly than India. The scale of dependence is staggering: Each year the country uses more groundwater than China and the US combined. The results of this overuse are wholly predictable. According to the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), nearly 30% of India’s land mass is currently undergoing desertification (defined as “a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife”). Taken as a whole, the CSE’s predictions are absolutely horrifying: 26 of 29 states are experiencing enough desertification to be worried, and eight of them already have an emergency because between 40% and 70% of their land mass is threatened. These are Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, and Goa. Yes, it’s the sorry truth. My famously lush and riparian Goa, with its three metres of rainfall each and every year, still shows up on this list of states that are turning to desert. It’s maddening: We waste more than we use, and both are more than what we receive from the skies. It’s what Creedence Clearwater Revival sang about in 1970: “Long as I remember the rain been coming down / Clouds of mystery pouring confusion on the ground / Good men through the ages trying to find the sun / And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain?” John Fogerty didn’t suggest an answer to his question, but we know who the culprit is.

Panel for conservation of waterbodies in city

New Delhi: The Wetland Authority of Delhi has constituted a technical committee, which will help in conservation of waterbodies. As the land-owning agencies have prepared documents for notifying 368 waterbodies, the technical committee will review their plans and assist them in technical matters. A senior official of the environment department said, “We had received just 23 brief documents in July last year, but the number of documents prepared rose to 368 in July this year. The newly constituted body will review the brief documents, management plans of wetlands prepared by the departments concerned and advise on any technical matter referred by the Wetland Authority of Delhi.” The official added that the process of notification of wetlands will begin after the committee reviews the brief documents of 368 waterbodies. The chief economist at World Resources Institute at Delhi, Madhu Verma, is the chairperson of the committee. The other committee members are from Teri University, Centre for Science and Environment, Water Technology Centre from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Wetlands International South Asia, member of Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) and member secretary of Wetland Authority of Delhi. Earlier, TOI had reported that Delhi currently does not have a single notified waterbody. The Union ministry of environment and forest and climate change came out with guidelines last year for implementing Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The guidelines stated that for each wetland proposed to be notified, a ‘brief document’ has to be prepared with information like demarcation of wetland boundary for enforcement of regulation.

Submitted Documents To WHO For Covaxin’s Emergency Use Listing: Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech said that WHO has begun reviewing its documents and that it expects to receive a green signal from the world health body at the earliest. Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Monday said that it has submitted all documents required for emergency use listing (EUL) of its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to the World Health Organization on July 9. The company further said that WHO has begun reviewing its documents and that it expects to receive a green signal from the world health body at the earliest. "All documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin have been submitted to WHO as of 9th July. The review process has now commenced with the expectation that we will receive EUL from WHO at the earliest," Bharat Biotech International Ltd Chairman and MD Krishna Ella said in a tweet posted by the company. At present, the WHO has approved vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm for emergency public use. Last week, during a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said, WHO is reviewing the consolidated data uploaded by Bharat Biotech on the health body’s portal and that it is likely to take a decision regarding Covaxin within four to six weeks. According to WHO guidelines, EUL is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies. "We currently have six vaccines approved with EUL and have recommendations from our Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE). We continue to look at Covaxin. Bharat Biotech has now started uploading their data on our portal and that is the next vaccine that will be reviewed by our experts committee," Swaminathan had said. At present, there are 105 candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation out of which 27 are in phase three or four, she said. There are another 184 candidate vaccines in preclinical evaluation. Most of the vaccines are designed for a two-dose schedule, she added.

All documents required for emergency use listing of Covaxin submitted to WHO: Bharat Biotech

Bharat Biotech on Monday said that all documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin have been submitted to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Hyderabad-based firm added that the review process has now commenced "with the expectation that Covaxin will get EUL from WHO at the earliest". The EUL is a license from the WHO to the company to make their vaccine available to people affected by a public health emergency. WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan had on Saturday said that the global health body is likely to take a decision on EUL of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin within four to six weeks. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday, Soumya Swaminathan said WHO is reviewing the data for Covaxin being uploaded on the health body's portal by vaccine maker Bharat Biotech. Talking about the process of EUL, Swaninathan said, "There is a process to be followed for EUL and pre-qualification of vaccines under which a company has to complete phase 3 trials and submit the whole data to the regulatory department of WHO which is examined by an expert advisory group." “The completeness of the data, which includes safety and efficacy and also the manufacturing quality, standard is provided. So, I expect that Bharat Biotech has already submitted data and in four to six weeks there will be a decision on its inclusion,” Swaminathan added. Currently, WHO has granted emergency use authorisation to six Covid-19 vaccines - Pfizer-BioNTech jab, Astrazeneca vaccine being manufactured by SK Bio and Serum Institute of India (SII), AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm.

Covid Waste Bazaar: Pandemic medical trash up for sale in Delhi-NCR

Contaminated Covid-19 medical waste is being sold for re-use through scrap yards across Delhi-NCR, an India Today investigation has revealed. Mounds of contamination lie scattered along an open yard dotted with shacks. Impoverished women sort out PPE kits, syringes, fluid bottles, and gloves as their children play nearby. Welcome to the grey market of Covid medical waste hauled from some of Delhi's leading private and government hospitals. An India Today investigation found large junkyards in the national capital region procuring the pandemic trash for re-sale. COVID WASTE FOR RETAIL, WHOLESALE, RECYCLING Along the Delhi-Ghaziabad border at Bhopura, discarded protective gear was being dried under the summer sun on an open compound. When probed, workers and their operators explained that the waste is prepared for local retailers, wholesalers and for recycling units. The yard's manager, who identified himself as Bhandari, confessed that the waste comes in from some of Delhi's prominent hospitals. The labeling stamped on the used PPE kits corroborated his claims. "Our material comes from RML and other hospitals," Bhandari replied, supervising sorting and loading for deliveries. His truck driver disclosed the destination. The Covid scrap, the driver revealed, was headed to a recycling factory at Loni in Ghaziabad. "There's one mill there at Loni, near the roundabout along the canal," he replied when asked about the location to which he was supplying the material. Individual buyers looking for cheap kits and syringes also buy the stuff from the same Bhopura yard by the kilos. When approached, Sunil Kumar, its operator, offered used fluid bottles, syringes and PPE gear in bulk. "How much quantity of PPE kits can you offer?" the reporter asked. "From 400 to 500 kilos," Kumar replied. "You can also get 200-250 kilos of (fluid) bottles." He claimed to be getting Covid medical waste from two private hospitals at Patparganj and Vaishali in Delhi. INDIA UNDER-REPORTING COVID WASTE? India has generated 203 tons of Covid medical waste per day during the pandemic, according to the data issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) till May 10, 2021. The quantity makes up almost 20 per cent of the total biomedical trash generated since the outbreak began. But even this hefty percentage might be an under-representation, warns a recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). While the Covid-19 caseload has increased by a massive 234 per cent between the first and second waves of the pandemic, Covid-19 biomedical waste generation went up by only eleven per cent. The CPCB attributes this mismatch to better segregation of the waste, but our research points clearly to under-representation," said Atin Biswas, a programme director at the CSE. On its part, the CPCB has already recommended separate arrangements for handling, segregating and disposing of Covid bio-medical waste at designated disposal facilities equipped with incinerators. WASTE ENDING UP AT UNORGANIZED YARDS But a lot of infectious refuse seems to be ending up in unorganized yards, India Today's Special Investigation Team found. "You can check PPE kits, the vests, in the garbage," said Aslam, an operator of a junkyard at Arthala in Ghaziabad, pointing towards a heap of discarded gear. "Where are you getting this material from?" the reporter asked. "From small hospitals," Aslam answered. He then went on to show used syringes and bottles. "We sell this material by weight. This PPE kit is sold at Rs 10 per kilo, the fluid bottles at Rs 57 (per kilo), and syringes at Rs 63 per kilo," Aslam said. The scene was no different at a junkyard in Delhi's Shram Vihar, with women seen sorting Covid waste from the piles of medical trash. "It's medical waste from hospitals," said one of the workers.

All documents submitted to WHO for emergency use listing of Covaxin, says Bharat Biotech

The Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm said the review process has now commenced and it expects to receive EUL from the WHO at the earliest All documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin have been submitted to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as of 9 July, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech said today. The biotechnology company also said that the review process has now commenced and it expects to receive EUL from the WHO at the earliest. Recently, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that the global health body is likely to take a call on whether to include Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin in the EUL in the next four to six weeks. At a webinar held by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday, the WHO chief scientist said that the global health body is reviewing Covaxin while its manufacturer Bharat Biotech uploads all the data on the WHO portal. According to WHO guidelines, EUL is a procedure to streamline the process in which new products can be approved and used during public health emergencies like a pandemic. "There is a process to be followed for EUL and pre-qualification of vaccines under which a company has to complete Phase 3 trials and submit the whole data to the regulatory department of WHO which is examined by an expert advisory group," Swaminathan explained. "The completeness of the data, which includes safety and efficacy and also the manufacturing quality and standard, is provided. So, I expect that Bharat Biotech has already submitted data and in four to six weeks there will be a decision on its inclusion," she said. As of now, the WHO has approved Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm for emergency use. "We currently have six vaccines approved with EUL and have recommendations from our Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE). We continue to look at Covaxin. Bharat Biotech has now started uploading their data on our portal and that is the next vaccine that will be reviewed by our experts' committee," Swaminathan said. At present, there are 105 vaccine candidates under clinical evaluation of which 27 are in the third or fourth phase. Another 184 candidates are in preclinical evaluation. Most coronavirus vaccines are designed with a two-dose schedule.

Coronavirus: India reports 41K+ new cases nearly 900 more dead

India on Sunday reported over 41,000 new COVID-19 cases along with nearly 900 more deaths. Several states have eased COVID-19 restrictions to stem the viral spread in light of the decline in infections, however, government officials warn against letting the guard down. World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan has also noted that the coronavirus pandemic isn't slowing down. Here are more details. In this article India's tally reaches 3.08 crore; 4.08 lakh dead Cases dipped after second wave peaked in May 73% new cases concentrated in 5 states Over 38 crore vaccine doses provided to states/UTs: Centre COVAXIN emergency listing likely in 4-6 weeks: WHO Statistics India's tally reaches 3.08 crore; 4.08 lakh dead According to the Union Health Ministry, till Sunday morning, India reported a total of 3,08,37,222 COVID-19 cases . The death toll has reached 4,08,040. So far, 2,99,75,064 patients have recovered, while 4,54,118 cases involve active infections. In the past 24 hours alone, India recorded 41,506 new infections, 41,526 more discharges, and 895 fresh fatalities. 37,60,32,586 vaccine doses have been administered so far. Trend Cases dipped after second wave peaked in May India's second wave peaked on May 7, when 4.14 lakh single-day cases were reported, over four times the number of cases reported during the first wave in mid-September. Although infections have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the three crore-mark on June 23. Notably, India had crossed the one crore-mark on December 19, 2020, and the two crore-mark on May 4, 2021. States 73% new cases concentrated in 5 states Maharashtra reported 8,296 new COVID-19 cases along with 6,026 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 14,087 new cases and 11,867 discharges. Meanwhile, the third worst-hit Karnataka added 2,162 new cases and 2,879 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 2,913 new cases and 3,321 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 2,925 new cases and 3,937 recoveries. Vaccinations Over 38 crore vaccine doses provided to states/UTs: Centre The Health Ministry said Sunday that over 38.6 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states/union territories so far, while 11.25 lakh doses are in the pipeline. Over 1.44 crore doses are still available with states/UTs for use, it said. India has managed to fully vaccinate 5.5% of its total population, while over 22% has received at least one dose. COVAXIN COVAXIN emergency listing likely in 4-6 weeks: WHO WHO's Swaminathan also said that the global health body is likely to take a call on whether Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN will be granted emergency use listing (EUL) in the coming four to six weeks. She was speaking at a webinar held by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday. COVAXIN —over 77% effective—is a two-dose inactivated vaccine indigenously produced in India.