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सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरमेंट की रिपोर्ट में कोरोना पर चौंकाने वाला खुलासा, अपार्टमेंट में रहने वालों को चेताया

सीएसई की रिपोर्ट आने के बाद अपार्टमेंट के फ्लैट में रहने वालों को सावधान हो जाना चाहिये कहीं फ्लैट के दमघोंटू कमरे तो कोरोना संक्रमण प्रसार की वजह तो नहीं बन रहे हैं। ऐसे कमरे में कई दिन तक वायरस ठहर सकता है। कानपुर, जेएनएन। स्टेटस सिंबल और सुरक्षा को लेकर तेजी से बढ़ रही फ्लैट संस्कृति संक्रमण का बड़ा कारण बन रही है। क्रॉस वेंटिलेशन न होने की वजह से दम घोंटू फ्लैट के कमरों में वायरस कई-कई दिन तक ठहरा रह सकता है जो अन्य लोगों को अपना शिकार बना सकता है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरमेंट (सीएसई) ने पिछले दिनों ही दम घोंटू फ्लैटों से बढ़ रहे संक्रमण के खतरे के प्रति आगाह किया था। रिपोर्ट में यह भी बताया गया था कि किन्हीं दो फ्लैटों के रोशनदान, खिड़की और बालकनी में दो गज की दूरी न होना घातक हो सकता है। यह भी कहा गया था कि इस मामले में तीन दशक पुरानी कॉलोनियों के हवादार घरों को आदर्श माना जा सकता है। जहां दो घरों की खिड़कियों, दरवाजों, रोशनदान और बालकनी में कम से कम दो से पांच मीटर तक की दूरी होती थी। ये होता है खतरा विशेषज्ञों के मुताबिक फ्लैटों में जगह कम होती है। ऐसे में यदि बीमार व्यक्ति अपने फ्लैट में छींकता या खांसता है तो संक्रमित एरोसोल (सूक्ष्म ठोस कण या तरल बूंदें ) आंतरिक वातावरण में ही घूमते रहते हैं। क्रॉस वेंटिलेशन (हवा आर-पार होने के लिए खिड़कियां दरवाजे) न होने की वजह से ये बाहर नहीं निकल पाते और अन्य लोगों को अपनी चपेट में ले लेते हैं। यह भी पढ़ें उन्नाव में सब्जी विक्रेता फैसल की मौत पर गरमाई सियासत, UP सरकार के लिए ओवैसी ने कही यह बात उन्नाव में सब्जी विक्रेता फैसल की मौत पर गरमाई सियासत, UP सरकार के लिए ओवैसी ने कही यह बात फ्लैटों को हवादार बनाएं केडीए के नगर नियोजक एके सिंह कहते हैं कि फ्लैटों को हवादार बनाया जाना चाहिए। क्रॉस वेंटिलेशन रहेगा तो वायरस और फंगल इन्फेक्शन का खतरा खुद ब खुद कम हो जाएगा। खिड़कियों को बड़ा रखना भी विकल्प हो सकता है। फ्लैट में शेड बैक और अन्य जगह छोडऩे की व्यवस्था का भी पालन किया जाना चाहिए। फ्लैट की छत की ऊंचाई 2.75 मीटर होनी चाहिए यह भी पढ़ें लाख जतन के बाद भी युवाओं को पछाड़ नहीं पा रहे 45 पार लाख जतन के बाद भी युवाओं को पछाड़ नहीं पा रहे 45 पार उत्तर प्रदेश विकास प्राधिकरण डिप्लोमा इंजीनियर संघ के अध्यक्ष और भवन विभाग के अभियंता अजय ङ्क्षसह के मुताबिक भवन उपविधि के नियमों का पालन करते हुए फ्लैट का निर्माण हो तो वेंटिलेशन बना रहेगा। हर फ्लैट की छत कम से कम 2.75 मीटर ऊंची होनी चाहिए। फ्लैट डक्ट से जुड़ा होना चाहिए ताकि हवा आती-जाती रहे। घर के वातावरण से बनती है इम्यूनिटी घर के वातावरण से काफी हद तक व्यक्ति की इम्यूनिटी बनती है। वर्तमान में लोगों को बरामदा, लॉन, आंगन और अहाते के लिए जगह छोडऩा जमीन की बर्बादी लगती है, लेकिन एक खुशनुमा घर के लिए ये बेहद जरूरी हैं। भारतीय वास्तुशास्त्र में क्रॉस वेेंटिलेशन के बिना घर की परिकल्पना ही नहीं की गई है, किसी भी संक्रामक बीमारी से बचने के लिए भी यह बड़ा हथियार है।

केंद्र सरकार की नई गाइडलाइंस में कोरोना वायरस से बचना है तो अपने आशियाने को बनाएं हवादार

संजीव गुप्ता, नई दिल्ली। कोरोना संक्रमण से बचने के लिए मास्क, दो गज की दूरी और पर्याप्त स्वच्छता तो जरूरी है ही, घर भी हवादार होना चाहिए। अगर घर में वेंटिलेशन की बेहतर व्यवस्था होगी तो वहां वायरस टिक ही नहीं पाएगा। इस महामारी से लड़ने के लिए केंद्र सरकार के प्रधान वैज्ञानिक सलाहकार कार्यालय से जारी नई गाइडलाइंस में इस पर खासा जोर है। इसमें वेंटिलेशन के उपाय सुझाने के साथ-साथ नए भवनों की डिजाइन भी उसी के अनुरूप बनाने की सलाह दी गई है। सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरमेंट (सीएसई) ने इस सलाह को तार्किक बताया है। नई गाइडलाइंस के मुताबिक संक्रमित व्यक्ति की लार और नाक से निकलने वाला स्राव वायु अभिण (ऐरोसोल) और बूंदों के रूप में एक से दूसरे को संक्रमित कर सकता है। इसके बारीक कण हवा के जरिये दूर तक जाते हैं। अगर घर या दफ्तर में पर्याप्त वेंटिलेशन न हो तो ये बूंदें और अभिकण वहीं एकत्रित होने लगते हैं, जिससे संक्रमण फैलने की संभावना बढ़ जाती है। इसके विपरीत खुले स्थानों में संक्रमण फैलने के आसार बहुत कम होते हैं, क्योंकि वायरस के कण जल्द ही हवा में फैल जाते हैं। गाइडलाइंस के मुताबिक भवन में अंदर की हवा बाहर जाने और बाहर की हवा अंदर आने की पुख्ता व्यवस्था होनी चाहिए। कोई भी भवन जितना हवादार होगा, उसमें रहने वालों में संक्रमण की संभावना उतनी ही कम हो जाएगी। यहां तक कि एसी चलाने की स्थिति में भी घर या दफ्तर के सभी खिड़की दरवाजे करे बंद नहीं करना चाहिए। इसके पीछे का कारण भी बताया गया है। ऐसी सूरत में संक्रमित हवा उसी क्षेत्र में जमा हो जाती है और संक्रमण की आशंका ज्यादा बढ़ जाती है। एसी चलाने पर खिड़की या दरवाजे थोड़ा खुला रखें। सीएसई का आकलन: इस संदर्भ में सीएसई ने अपनी एक रिपोर्ट में कहा है कि पहले भवनों की डिजाइन इसी तरह से की जाती थी। उनमें आंगन होता था, वेंटिलेशन के लिए पर्याप्त खिड़की दरवाजे भी होते थे। लेकिन, जैसे-जैसे शहरों की आबादी बढ़ती गई और जमीन घटती गई, वैसे-वैसे बिल्डरों एवं एसी बनाने वाली कंपनियों की गठजोड़ से भवनों की ऐसी डिजाइन बनने लगी, जिसमें कम क्षेत्रफल में भी अधिक जगह देने के लिए उसे पूर्णतया कवर किया जाने लगा। वेंटिलेशन की कमी महसूस न हो, इसके लिए एसी लगाए जाने लगे। लोकनायक में ब्लैक फंगस के मरीजों से दो वार्ड भरे दिल्ली के लोकनायक अस्पताल में तेजी से बढ़ रही ब्लैक फंगस के मरीजों की संख्या, दो वार्ड भरे यह भी पढ़ें केंद्र सरकार की गाइडलाइंस के प्रमुख बिंदु जालीदार खिड़कियां अवश्य हों। एग्जॉस्ट फैन भी लगा रहे तो और बेहतर दफ्तरों, सभागारों और शॉपिंग मॉल इत्यादि, जहां वायु प्रवाह के माध्यम सीमित होते हैं, वहां उनकी छतों पर फिल्टर लगाकर वेंटिलेशन की कारगर व्यवस्था की जानी चाहिए जहां तक संभव हो, बसों और टे्रनों में खिड़कियां खुली रखी जाएं। वायु प्रवाह को बेहतर बनाने के लिए एग्जॉस्ट फैन लगे हों और एसी में फिल्टर लगाया जाए नए भवनों की डिजाइन भी वेंटिलेशन की कारगर व्यवस्था रखते हुए ही तैयार की जाए ये भी पढ़ेंः दिल्ली के सीएम केजरीवाल ने केंद्र के समक्ष रखी 4 मांगे, बोले- युवाओं के लिए वैक्सीनेशन बंद होने का दुख सीएसइ सस्टेनेबल सिटीज प्रोग्राम के मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने बताया कि एसी के अपने लाभ हैं, लेकिन वह प्राकृतिक वेंटिलेशन का पर्याय नहीं है। हमें भवनों की डिजाइन इस प्रकार बनाने की आवश्यकता है, जिसमें वेंटिलेशन की पर्याप्त व्यवस्था हो। भवन मानकों में इसे शामिल करना अनिवार्य होना चाहिए।

SPSTI and CCNACI host webinar on Biodiversity Day

SPSTI and CCNACI host webinar on Biodiversity Day Chandigarh, May 23(UNI) The Society for Promotion of Science & Technology in India and Chandigarh Chapter of National Academy of Sciences India (NASI) jointly conducted a webinar for marking the World Biodiversity Day that is observed on May 22. The webinar titled 'We are Part of the Solution for Nature' was held on Friday, May 21. The speaker was Dr. Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science & Environment, New Delhi. The session was supported by NCSTC, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. It is information that takes us to knowledge and then to action, said by Dr. Sunita Narain. She said we understand the challenges that are needed to explore new approaches so that solutions for environmental management are affordable and sustainable. It is the politics of the inclusive society which help us in finding the solutions for environment management. While sharing statistics from Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, she said we have a huge trend of declining Biodiversity and human beings are responsible for the current phase of biodiversity loss. Also, 10,996 species of birds, 5593 of mammals, 6576 of amphibians and many species of fishes, sharks and rays have been lost. She spoke on the biodiversity – Covid-19 link that it is the result of our dystopian relationship with nature and Zoonotic diseases are increasing because of species-virus jump from animals to humans. To rebuild the relationship with biodiversity, inclusive conservation is needed so that local people are custodians and harvesters of nature and its protectors. A large number of people from all over India and countries from abroad like Spain and United Kingdom attended this session which was also streamed on the Facebook Channel of the SPSTI. The session was coordinated by Prof. R. Baskar, of GJUST Hisar, Dr. Souparno Banerjee, CSE Network, Prof. Arun K. Grover, former Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Shri Dharamvir, IAS (Retd.), Prof. Keya Dharamvir, General Secretary of SPSTI and Prof. R.K. Kohli, Chairman of UNI XC RKM

पर्यावरण प्रबंधन के समाधान किफायती और टिकाऊ बने : डा. सुनीता

जागरण संवाददाता, कुरुक्षेत्र : सोसाइटी फॉर प्रमोशन ऑफ साइंस एंड टेक्नोलॉजी इन इंडिया कुरुक्षेत्र और नेशनल एकेडमी ऑफ साइंसेज इंडिया की चंडीगढ़ इकाई ने संयुक्त रूप से शुक्रवार को जैव विविधता दिवस पर वेबिनार का आयोजन किया। मुख्य वक्ता विज्ञान एवं पर्यावरण केंद्र नई दिल्ली की महानिदेशक डा. सुनीता नारायण ने हम प्रकृति के समाधान का हिस्सा है विषय पर चर्चा की। डा. सुनीता नारायण ने कहा कि समाज के सामने आज कई चुनौती हैं। ऐसे में चुनौतियों को समझते हुए नए दृष्टिकोण तलाशने की आवश्यकता है। जिससे पर्यावरण प्रबंधन के समाधान किफायती और टिकाऊ बनें। यह समावेशी समाज की राजनीति है, जो हमें पर्यावरण प्रबंधन के समाधान खोजने में मदद करती है। उन्होंने जैव विविधता और पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र सेवाओं पर वैश्विक मूल्यांकन रिपोर्ट से आंकड़े सांझा किए और कहा कि हमारे पास जैव विविधता की भारी गिरावट की प्रवृत्ति है और जैव विविधता के नुकसान के वर्तमान चरण के लिए मानव जिम्मेदार है। पक्षियों की 10,996 प्रजातियां, मैमल्स की 5593, उभयचरों की 6576 और शार्क जैसी मछलियों की प्रजातियां खो गई हैं। उन्होंने जैव विविधता और कोविड -19 के लिक पर भी बात की। उन्होंने कहा कि यह प्रकृति के साथ डायस्टोपियन संबंधों का परिणाम है और जानवरों से मनुष्यों में प्रजाति-वायरस के आने के कारण •ाूनोटिक रोग बढ़ रहे हैं। जागरण संवाददाता, कुरुक्षेत्र : बिजली निगम के 11 केवी बिरला मंदिर फीडर से शनिवार को सुबह 10 बजे से सायं पांच बजे तक बिजली आपूर्ति बाधित रहेगी। फीडर से ब्रह्मासरोवर, बिरला मंदिर, केडीबी कार्यालय के आसपास, विकेकानंद कालोनी, थर्ड गेट, कर्ण कालोनी के आसपास के क्षेत्र में बिजली आपूर्ति बाधित रहेगी। निगम के एसडीओ विकासदीप शर्मा ने बताया कि इसके साथ ही 11 केवी कुरुक्षेत्र फीडर व 11 केवी केडीबी फीडर से भी शटडाउन होगा।

चिपको आंदोलन के प्रणेता सुन्दर लाल

बहुगुणा के निधन पर अश्रुपूर्ण श्रद्धांजलि: डब्ल्यूएनडी ... डायलॉग एंड डेवलपमेंट' के ऑनलाइन कार्यक्रम में प्रसिद्ध पर्यावरण कार्यकर्त्ता सुनीता नारायण जी के भाषण के दौरान बहुगुणा जी के निधन की सूचना मिली। सुनकर बहुत दुःख हुआ।

Ever-growing garbage hills of Delhi

Despite complaints from the residents about the foul smell & spread of diseases, little efforts are made by authorities to clear the Ghazipur garbage hill in eastern Delhi. Hawks, vultures and other birds hover around the towering Ghazipur landfill on the eastern fringe of Delhi. Stray cows, dogs and rats wander at will over the huge expanse of filth that covers an area of over 70 acres. Ghazipur garbage hill, which was once a landfill, rises by nearly 10 meters a year with no end in sight to its foul-smelling growth. According to news reports, two people were killed and four vehicles fell into a drain after a part of the landfill site collapsed in 2017. The landfill site, commissioned in 1984 reached its capacity in 2002 and since then it has been overflowing, turning into a hill as garbage continues to be dumped here in the absence of an alternate option. At the last count in 2019, the landfill had crossed 65 meters, just eight meters short of the iconic Qutub Minar, which is 73 meters high. An east Delhi municipality officer admits that way back in 2019, the National Green Tribunal had directed the municipal bodies to biomine the infamous garbage hills at Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur. “In 2018 too, a section of the hill collapsed in heavy rains killing two people. Dumping was banned after the deaths, but the measure lasted only a few days because authorities could not find an alternative,” he informs. However, he could not explain why the work so not being done regularly or at a faster pace. Hazardous Impact of the garbage hill A study by researchers at IIT-Delhi in 2019, published in the Journal of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste, pointed out the hazardous nature of this landfill. Through multiple mined samples from three landfills in different parts of India, including the one at Okhla, situated in south Delhi, the study determined the presence of dangerous levels of toxicity in the leachate, a dark-coloured liquid produced when water seeps through garbage, produced from such excavated and processed landfill material. More and more garbage keeps piling up every day and the trash hill continues to grow as the city’s detritus keeps on arriving each day in hundreds of trucks (MIG Photo/ Varsha Singh) The exercise of biomining and bioremediating the landfills was ordered by the National Green Tribunal following the reported success of similar work carried out by the Indore Municipal Corporation at its landfill site. The tribunal instructed three municipal corporations of Delhi to begin the project on their landfills, including that of Ghazipur, by October 2019 and finish clearing them within a year. However, more and more garbage keeps piling up every day and the trash hill continues to grow as the city’s detritus keeps on arriving each day in hundreds of trucks. Shambhavi Shukla, senior researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, says the methane belching from the garbage can become even more deadly when mixed with the atmosphere. Leachate liquid oozes from the dump and mixes into a local canal that pollutes groundwater in the area. “It all needs to be stopped as the continuous dumping has severely polluted the air and groundwater,” she says. Making life miserable for locals Residents say the dump often makes their daily lives difficult. “The poisonous smell has made our lives hell. People fall sick all the time,” says a 45-year-old local, Puneet Sharma. He adds that complaints to the municipality are often ignored and now many residents are leaving the area, especially since the past few months as the amount of biomedical waste has increased. He goes on to say that setting up a plant that recycles waste into energy next to the dump increases their misery because the smoke it releases by burning trash is also poisonous. “Fires sparked by methane gas coming from the dump, regularly break out and take days to extinguish. The overflowing landfill stinks, making the lives of locals unbearable and even becomes a hub of infections and diseases like dengue and malaria every year, especially during monsoon,” Sharma adds. In July 2020, former cricketer and East Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir said that the hill would be cleared when he received lots of complaints from locals and politicians about biomedical waste related to Covid-19 being dumped there from various hospitals in and around Delhi. “The work had started and we could see the height of the garbage hill decreasing gradually, but the process did not last long. Since December last year, again it has started rising again. We are planning to write to the chief minister but in the meantime, we continue to suffer as the whole city dumps all kinds of hazardous waste here,” he adds.

Is Ivermectin The New Hydroxychloroquine? Online Interest In Unproven Covid Drug Surges As Experts Urge Caution

The antiparasitic drug Ivermectin is seeing a surge in online interest, with some viewing it as a potential Covid-19 treatment—but just as they did other popular unproven treatments like Hydroxychloroquine, medical experts and global health bodies have warned available data does not support the drug’s use. Worldwide Google Trends data from the past twelve months show a sharp increase in Google searches for the term “Ivermectin,” with current interest levels being near the peak. Interest in the drug is particularly high in Slovakia, where the government has authorized its use in Covid-19 patients, and in South Africa, where a pack of 10-pills can be found on the black market at prices are 15-times higher than the standard $4 despite local health authorities warning against its use. Search interest in the antiparasitic treatment is at a 12-month peak in India—the global epicenter of the pandemic—and doctors are increasingly alarmed that information shared online is causing some Covid-19 patients to self-medicate with the drug. Search interest in Hydroxychloroquine—the anti-malarial drug that was previously touted by some, including President Trump, as a miracle Covid-19 cure—slumped sharply last September, and unlike Ivermectin, the drug hasn’t witnessed another surge in interest this year. Proponents of Ivermectin argue that trials show the drug helps significantly reduce mortality among Covid-19 patients, but health regulators like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have warned against its use outside controlled clinical trials citing a lack of adequate evidence. Crucial Quote In a statement issued in February, Merck & Co., which manufactures Ivermectin, noted its analysis of the drug in studies identified “no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19” and “no meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19.” Key Background The use of Ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment has emerged as a political flashpoint in parts of the developing world. In South Africa, facing pressure from local health practitioners, the country’s health regulator, South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), allowed “controlled compassionate use” in an attempt to curb black-market use of it. Then in April, the health agency was ordered by a high court order to permit the off-label prescription of Ivermectin by doctors. Similarly, the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration recently approved the controlled use of Ivermectin in two hospitals, acknowledging there had been “pressure” to issue approvals. While several Filipino doctors and health experts have pushed for the use of the anti-parasitic drug, two leading doctors’ groups have warned against its use, suggesting there is not enough evidence to support its use. Last week, the Indian state of Goa announced it would give the drug to all its adult residents as prophylaxis to protect against Covid-19. The announcement was met with immediate pushback from the World Health Organization. While no other Indian state has proposed pre-emptive use of the drug as prophylaxis, many recommend its use as a treatment. The magazine Down To Earth reported (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/ivermectin-for-covid-19-is-india-overusing-76963) several doctors in the country have admitted to prescribing the drug under compulsion, peer pressure or on patient’s demand, resulting in overuse at hospitals. Tangent In March 2020, a lab study performed by Australian scientists indicated that Ivermectin inhibited the coronavirus. The study concluded that the use of the drug “warrants further investigation for possible benefits in humans.” While this piqued interest in the drug, scientists noted the dosage required to achieve an antiviral effect is not only nearly 100 times higher than what has been approved for human use but also potentially toxic. Later in December, U.S. physician Pierre Kory testified before a Senate hearing where he said that Ivermectin, alongside other medicines such as vitamin C, zinc and melatonin, could "save hundreds of thousands of people,” citing more than 20 studies. While many scientists have disagreed with Kory’s assessment, the video of his testimony went viral on YouTube—and was eventually taken down under the platform’s Covid-19 disinformation policy. A paper penned by Kory and other members of the group Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) was rejected by the Frontiers in Pharmacology journal. The journal noted that “the article made a series of strong, unsupported claims based on studies with insufficient statistical significance,” and criticized the authors for promoting their own specific Ivermectin-based treatment.

Clouds of worry: Farm fire count doubles from last summer

New Delhi: With the rabi crop harvest season going on in the northern plains, the intensity of stubble burning has increased significantly over the last few weeks. The VIIRS satellite data (375m) analysed by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has recorded over 4,000 more farm fires in Punjab between April 1 and May 16 this year as compared to the same period last year. The figure is also higher than that of 2019. Similarly, fire counts in Haryana are almost double than what were recorded during the same period last year, the data shows. According to satellite imagery, Punjab recorded 12,033 fire counts between April 1 and May 16 this year, as compared to 8,172 during the same period last year. In 2019, 10,307 fires were recorded. Haryana, meanwhile, has shown an improvement from 2019, but the count is almost twice as compared to 2020. According to the data, 4,825 fires were recorded in Haryana this year as compared to 2,523 last year. In 2019, the figure was 5,443 for this duration. “Punjab and Haryana have recorded over 12,500 and 5,500 fires so far during this rabi harvest season. Fires during this season are witnessed every year but their impact on air quality is not as pronounced as summer conditions such as higher temperatures and wind speeds facilitate smoke dispersion,” said L S Kurinji, research analyst at CEEW. The impact is more during the winter due to stable atmospheric conditions with calm surface winds, she added. She states proactive measures to cut pollution from its sources during the winter season, including agricultural burning, will be critical. “State and central government agencies, and entrepreneurs involved in biomass management should coordinate with farmers to ensure they have access to viable crop residue management options. Year-round awareness campaigns will help demonstrate better residue management practices and address misconceptions around such practices.” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the focus on farm fires had generally been lower in summer, with the state machinery and the Centre often shifting focus towards stubble burning just before winter. However, she believes that due to the pandemic, “attention right now is to save lives and to ensure people are safe. Therefore enforcement around farm fires could be lax”. According to SAFAR, a forecast body under the ministry of earth sciences, active fire counts in the northern plains crossed upwards of 1,500 per day in the last two weeks. However, wind conditions have largely been unfavourable in terms of influencing Delhi’s air.

Hundreds of dead fish floating in Bengaluru lake; residents complaint of stench, but to no avail [details]

The inflow of effluents and pesticides from surrounding industries and agricultural fields resulted in sudden dip in dissolved oxygen in the lake. The water bodies and the resulting biodiversity have been bearing the brunt of the growing population and unsustainable development for a few decades now. Dead fish, murky waters and the resultant stench are some of the very visible signs of nature having reached a breaking point. It's been a week since hundreds of dead fish have been floating on Mottanalluru Lake in South Bengaluru. An inflow of chemicals, pesticides, effluents from the surrounding industries and agricultural fields has finally come to a breaking point. After the reports of dead fish gained traction, some of the local residents alleged that they have been forced to live with the stench of dead fish despite complaining to the concerned officials for the last week. After the stench became unbearable, several residents and lake activists complained to the local authorities, including the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. After a team inspected the site, senior officials from KSPCB said the inflow of effluents and pesticides from surrounding industries and agricultural fields resulted in a sudden dip in dissolved oxygen in the lake. Classic case of unsustainable development The lake, located 16 kms from Koramangala, sits on the border and does not fall under BBMP limits. Local residents also said that they requested MLA Shivanna too in the matter. Time and again, from foam to dead fish, have all washed up on the shores of the city's lakes. Last year, Kommaghatta Lake in Kengeri had thousands of dead fish floating on its surface spread over 34 acres. The shocking site resulted in a bureaucratic blame game with several residents complaining of foul smell. The area had to be barricaded and the dead fish cleared out. Polluted lakes in Bengaluru - a perennial problem In 2019, thousands of dead fish landed up on the shores of Sheelavantanakere lake at Nallurahali, Whitefield in Bengaluru. At the time, contamination due to sewage inflows resulted in not just polluting the lake, but black water, stench and dead fish. A year before that, again thousands of dead fish were found floating on the surface of Seegehalli Lake in Bengaluru. Many years ago, the fisheries department made several recommendations, including the installation of aerators to increase the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels in the lake. A recent assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment stated that the number of water bodies in Bengaluru had reduced by 79 per cent in the past four decades. Once a report submitted by the Lake Encroachment House Committee, said nearly 144 religious institutions have encroached upon lake beds. The water bodies are threatened not just in numbers, but in terms of the quality of biodiversity too.

प्रदूषण पर बेअसर है इस बार का लॉकडाउन

सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट के विवेक चट्टोपाध्याय के अनुसार, इस लॉकडाउन की विस्तार से स्टडी की जरूरत है। इसके बाद ही चीजें साफ हो पाएंगी। इस बार एक तो हवाएं नई दिल्ली: 2020 के लॉकडाउन में हर तरफ पर्यावरण पर पड़े अच्छे प्रभावों की बात हो रही थी। विजिबिलिटी सुधरने से लोगों को काफी दूर तक की चीजें नजर आ रही थीं। तारे अधिक नजर आ रहे थे। इस बार उस तरह का माहौल नहीं है। एक्सपर्ट का कहना है कि 2020 का लॉकडाउन राष्ट्रव्यापी था। इस वक्त दिल्ली में लॉकडाउन चार हफ्तों से है, लेकिन एनसीआर में यह काफी बाद में प्रभावी हुआ। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट के विवेक चट्टोपाध्याय के अनुसार, इस लॉकडाउन की विस्तार से स्टडी की जरूरत है। इसके बाद ही चीजें साफ हो पाएंगी। इस बार एक तो हवाएं दिल्ली का साथ नहीं दे रही हैं। राजस्थान की धूल लेकर हवाएं निरंतर पहुंच रही हैं। दूसरा प्रदूषण फैलाने वाला ईंधन भी दिल्ली-एनसीआर में काफी अधिक जल रहा है। अब दिल्ली-एनसीआर के काफी शहर में लॉकडाउन है, तो हो सकता है पर्यावरण के लिहाज से कुछ अच्छे नतीजे देखने को मिलें। दिल्ली में लॉकडाउन के बाद भी राजधानी को बेहद खराब दिनों का सामना करना पड़ा है। सफर के मुताबिक, इस समय भी पराली का धुआं, प्रदूषण फैलाने वाले ईंधन की वजह से राजधानी में कुछ दिन प्रदूषण काफी अधिक रहा। कई मौकों पर दूर से हवाओं के साथ आ रही धूल प्रदूषण की वजह बनी तो इन दिनों हर हफ्ते हवाएं और बूंदाबांदी की वजह से प्रदूषण सामान्य स्तर पर बना हुआ है।

Autocar Pro’s May 15 edition is about ensuring business continuity, packs a Safety Special too

Autocar Pro’s May 15 edition is about ensuring business continuity, packs a Safety Special too This 56-pager is full of exclusive interviews, deep industry insight and trending stories. Plus, it incorporates the annual 'Safety Special', which comes just before World Road Safety Week (May 17-23) opens. All of this makes the latest edition a compelling read for the weekend and beyond. Let’s first look at what some leading component players are engaged in. Pricol in recast mode, Lumax revs up growth game-plan Coimbatore-based Pricol is headed for a possible recast of the business divisions which will help it to be better prepared to take on mobility challenges of the future. Managing director Vikram Mohan says he is, “keen to invest in technologies and stay ahead of the game.” Gurgaon-based Lumax Industries had hit the pause button on capacity expansion, greenfield site and engineering investments amid the pandemic last year. Now it’s investing Rs 250 crore in Haryana and Gujarat and is also setting up new design studios and Europe and America. Indian Oil expands its energy basket, BS VI-and-beyond virtual conference When the country’s largest oil marketing company makes moves to be future-ready, it will have an impact on the entire country. The keynote speaker at Autocar Professional’s recent BS VI virtual conference, IOCL chairman Shrikant M Vaidya says the company is readying itself to offer any type of fuel that the country may need. Apart from exploring the feasibility of aluminium-air systems for EVs, he feels hydrogen is the fuel of the future but it will take time to make it economically viable and, in this interim, hydrogen-spiked CNG may actually emerge as, “one big game-changer for the auto industry.” April 28-29 was when Autocar Professional held its mega emission virtual conference. Twenty industry stalwarts debated a host of critical issues – it’s all there in our comprehensive 11-page report including: Dr Pawan Goenka on the future growth mantra for India Auto Inc Why a stable long-term emission roadmap is vital EV range and charging infrastructure concerns in the race to zero mobility. Evaluation of BS VI Stage II norms and the role of CAFE norms. Meanwhile, as emission concerns gather steam the world over, Anumita Roychowdhury of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment says stringent benchmark regulation will force improvement in automotive technology and promote greener mobility solutions.

India's infertility war: Exposure to chemicals lowers sperm count, egg quality

India's infertility war: Exposure to chemicals lowers sperm count, egg quality Until about a decade ago, weekdays at the Agatsya Sperm Bank in Rajkot saw men, aged between 20 to 30 years, queue up outside the facility. A quick screening, and the young, athletic, qualified, English-speaking men among them would be picked out. For, it would be certain that they would have sufficient volumes of “healthy swimmers”, enough to be transported to clinics across Gujarat for assisted reproduction. At the time, 70 per cent of the semen samples received were accepted and marked “ready for use”. But that was then, when the Indian sperm was healthy and in abundance. Today, it is the opposite. “Now, 70 per cent of the samples we receive are rejected,” said Dr Yogesh Choksi, a microbiologist who started the facility in 1997. His is the oldest registered cryobank in Gujarat. “Even as the number of donors has, by and large, remained steady, the quality and volume of semen has fallen down sharply,” he said. When Choksi started the bank, he recalls that any given semen sample would range between 3.5ml and 4ml with a sperm count of 80-100 million per millilitre, which was considered normal at the time. That way, it was possible to fill five vials with a single semen sample. But now, “a single semen sample measures between 1ml and 1.5ml and the sperm count remains as low as 15-20mpm,” he said. “We barely get one full vial from a single sample.” Shocking, right? But it is a reality that has been staring us in the face all along. And combined with a decline in testosterone levels in Indian men, it has consequently resulted in the rise in infertility cases. SWIMMERS TAKE A DIP In 2017, researchers in the US concluded that the sperm count of an average man in western countries had fallen by 59 per cent between 1973 and 2011. Next year, researchers at the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow undertook a similar study, analysing just how steep and continuing the slump was among 6,000 fertile and 7,000 infertile Indian men from 1979 to 2016. The study found that semen parameters in Indian men—including the sperm count, volume and movement—had declined with time and the deterioration was quantitatively higher in the infertile group, with the mean semen volume as low as 0.77ml and the sperm count at 29mpm. Said Rajender Singh, principal scientist (endocrinology) at CSIR-CDRI: “In the same period of study, if we do not distinguish between fertile and infertile men and take them as one cohort, we, in India, have witnessed a decline of 26 per cent in the overall sperm count, from 87mpm in 1979 to 64mpm in 2016.” Yet, what is concerning is not just that the count and quality are declining, but that they are declining below the World Health Organization’s normal reference range of 15mpm. Any value beyond this renders a man infertile. And, clinicians in India are witnessing a large number of men coming to them with complaints of infertility due to a sperm count that “at times falls down to extremely low (oligospermia) or even zero (azoospermia),” said Dr Aditi Dani, fertility consultant at Mumbai’s Masina Hospital. ‘EGGS’ISTENTIAL CRISIS But it is not just men. The ability to conceive a child naturally has taken a hit in both men and women equally. “There is no doubt that an ever increasing number of girls in India are experiencing early puberty,” said Dani, “while women are losing good quality eggs at younger ages than their mothers or grandmothers did.” India, the second most populous country after China, finds itself at the centre of a paradoxical situation: an ever-mushrooming population on one hand and a dramatic year-on-year decline in its fertility rate on the other. A fertility rate of about 2.2—a couple having two children—is generally considered the replacement level, the rate at which the population would hold steady. When the fertility rate dips below this number, the population is expected to decline. As per the National Health Profile 2018, the total fertility rate fell below two children per woman in 12 states, and just about reached replacement levels in nine others. While there is no doubt that family planning has been the chief guiding force behind this, experts believe that the rising incidence of infertility is also to blame. “Infertility is on an alarming rise in India, with the country estimated to be contributing to nearly 25-30 per cent of all couples diagnosed with it the world over,” said Dr Neeta Singh, senior consultant and professor, division of reproductive medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. According to the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, one in six couples suffers from infertility, amounting to 27.5 million infertile couples trying for conception. “You can gauge the magnitude of the problem from the patient load at the AIIMS ART Centre,” said Singh. “As per the medical records for 2018-2019, nearly 15 lakh patients consulted the outpatient department, of which 5,468 patients underwent ART (assisted reproductive technology) treatment.” ABC OF EDCs And while the reasons vary—age can be a contributing factor, as can lifestyle issues like stress and obesity—scientists and researchers are more worried about what are called endocrine disrupting chemicals. EDCs represent a broad class of chemicals such as organochlorinated and organophosphate pesticides—used in agriculture and mosquito control—and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticisers (used to soften plastics) and fuels. They are ubiquitous; EDCs can be found in food wraps and plastic water bottles, even in the perfume you wear, the tap water you drink and cook with, and the air you breathe. And, it is their unrestricted use that is harming our ability to have natural pregnancies. “Their impact becomes even more magnified and frightening for India, as we are witnessing an ever-growing consumerist culture and have relatively easy regulations,” said Dr Kamlesh Sarkar, director, ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad. EDCs essentially interfere with and disrupt the body’s endocrine system that monitors the hormonal balance across different glands. Sex hormones—oestrogen and progesterone in women and androgens including testosterone in men—are essential for reproduction, as are hormones secreted by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in both men and women. EDCs either block the connection between these hormones and their receptors or increase or decrease their levels in blood. They also mimic the body’s natural hormonal activity and trick the body into blocking the natural hormones from doing their job. Any alteration in the amount or timing of the release of sex hormones in the body can alter a couple’s chances to conceive. That is because if these hormones do not get to the right place at the right time, sperm production or ovulation—both necessary for reproduction—can get hampered. And, infertility is not just an urban issue. In a 2018 paper, Dr Sonia Malik, director of Delhi’s Southend IVF, wrote that villages were reporting higher incidence of infertility owing to the “high use” of fertilisers and pesticides. In some ways, it is not surprising that EDCs cause unfortunate consequences. For instance, since human reproductive processes are similar to those of other species, many pest-control chemicals designed to harm pest reproductive systems also damage human reproductive systems. According to experts, health defects associated with EDCs include a range of reproductive problems, from declining sperm counts and reduced fertility to male and female reproductive tract abnormalities, reduction in the number of healthy eggs in ovarian reserves, loss of foetus, early puberty and menstrual problems. In 2014, professor Kaustubha Mohanty, department of chemical engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, carried out a research on the lingering effects of endosulfan, which was indiscriminately sprayed on cashew plantations in Kerala’s Kasaragod district and caused abnormalities and androgenic defects among children. Ten years after India banned it, it is still found to exist, said Mohanty. “Its residues were detected from air, water and soil. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get it out of the system because of its toxic properties,” he said. Such toxicity goes beyond state borders. In 2006, Rajvi Mehta from Hope Infertility Clinic and Research Foundation, Bengaluru, evaluated 16,714 semen samples from five different cities of India and found that 38.3 per cent men from Kurnool and 37.4 per cent men in Jodhpur showed complete absence of motile sperms. Fifty-one per cent of men in Kurnool suffered from an abnormally low sperm count—the highest reported prevalence in the world, said Mehta. As per the study, a possible link could be established between infertility and high use of pesticides in Kurnool, where cotton is grown as a cash crop. The study, published in the recent issue of the Asian Journal of Andrology, was initiated after the Hope clinic got an unusually high number of referrals for male infertility treatment from Kurnool. “In Jodhpur, there is high level of fluoride in groundwater, and exposure to high fluoride levels has a detrimental effect on the male reproductive system in animals and can also cause disruption of reproductive hormones in men,” the paper said. As per WHO, our exposure to EDCs has increased in the last two-and-a-half decades owing to their increased presence in our environment, be it food, water, air or everyday products. “Most of the EDCs are lipophilic (they can dissolve in fats and oils) and accumulate in the adipose tissue (body fat); thus they have a very long half-life in the body,” said Alka Dubey, programme coordinator, chemical and health, Toxics Link, an NGO that specialises in research on toxic chemicals in India. “Many of these substances either do not decay or decay slowly, while others may be metabolised to compounds that are more toxic than the parent chemicals.” POP GOES THE BUBBLE Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are an example of such chemicals; the name says it all. POPs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), are highly persistent, toxic, and accumulate in the body fat of humans and animals. Endocrine disruption is one of the recently considered consequences of POPs because of their hormone-altering capabilities. Studies have long established how DDT and PCBs (used in electrical equipment and coatings) can impact the growth and function of testicles, leading to abnormal sperm development and male infertility later in life. While the United States has banned DDT, it continues to be used in the fight against malaria and other diseases in India. However, following continuous use, insects have become resistant to it. It has left its footprints though; as early as 2001, Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre found residues of DDT and its metabolites in sediments and fish samples collected from the east and west coasts of India. Moreover, a 2018 report in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology said that POPs were found in human breast milk samples collected from Bhatinda and Ludhiana in Punjab. DROWNING IN PLASTIC According to the Endocrine Society, the annual global production of plastics—which is found in almost everything we use and which contains EDCs—has grown from 50 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes since the 1970s. Bisphenols and phthalates are two of the most common EDCs found in plastics; they mimic or interfere with reproduction regulated by oestrogens and androgens. Exposure to bisphenols and phthalates can lead to reduced fertility, pregnancy loss and infertility. Most people are exposed to bisphenol A through food and beverages into which BPA has leached from the container. BPA and its metabolites have been found in urine, blood, saliva, umbilical cord, placenta and amniotic fluid. In a 2018 study, Ruckmani A. from the department of pharmacology, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute in Chennai, assessed BPA levels in urine samples. The levels were “very high” in the urine of those who consumed food and drink from plastic containers. “Maximum level was seen in those who reused plastics as well as worked with BPA containing materials (9.01ng/ml) and the average level found in this study was higher than the level reported earlier (1.71ng/ml) in the Indian population,” said Ruckmani. “This may be due to the change in food habits, like eating fast food that are served in plastic containers and changes in quality of life.” Dr Neeta Singh Dr Neeta Singh A clear evidence of BPA’s impact on fertility among Indian women was seen in a study carried out by Dr Firuza Parikh of FertilTree International Centre, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai. Serum and follicular fluid samples were collected from 117 women in the median age of 34 who were seeking treatment for infertility and undergoing oocyte retrieval. The samples were collected during oocyte retrieval. “We found a clear correlation that was very disturbing. Given that in the past two decades, the number of couples coming to us for IVF has substantially increased, we can infer that EDCs have a definite role to play,” said Parikh. Likewise, phthalates are a family of high-volume chemicals added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, elasticity, durability and pliability. There are various forms of phthalates in use; however, DEHP and DnBP are the most commonly used in consumables, be it household items, cosmetics, personal care products, sanitary napkins or plastic toys for children. Toxicological and epidemiological studies have found that some phthalates, especially DnBP and DEHP, have oestrogenic and/or anti-androgenic properties that can lead to reproductive defects. Phthalates are estimated to have a half-life of about 12 hours in the air, 10 to 20 days in the soil and days to weeks in water. Also, as these have relatively high vapour pressure, it can easily get trapped in cloud masses. Thereafter, with rainfall, these phthalates reach and add to the pollutant levels of surface water. In 2011, Ramakant Sahu of the Centre for Science and Environment and his team brought to the fore the chilling presence of phthalates in children’s toys in India. All toy samples showed the presence of one or more phthalates at a concentration ranging from 0.1 per cent to 16.2 per cent. Soft toys contain higher levels of phthalates compared to hard toys, as its primary function is to soften hard plastic. It was only in 2017 that the Bureau of Indian Standards restricted the use of certain phthalates in children’s toys and teethers. “Epidemiological studies have reported that exposure to phthalates leads to decline in male fertility, decreased anogenital distance and testicular dysgenesis (abnormal development) syndrome in male infants alongside other development- and behaviour-related issues,” stated a report by Toxics Link. Another report by the same NGO said that there was a high presence of phthalates in various samples of baby diapers, which, when dumped in garbage bins or landfills, can leach into the soil. A 2014 study published by Mihir Tanay Das (Fakir Mohan University, Odisha), Pooja Ghosh (IIT Delhi) and Indu Shekhar Thakur (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi) measured the estimated exposure of South Delhi population to 15 different phthalates. It revealed high intake of DnBP and DEHP in the adult urban population in the JNU campus and Okhla. But it is the Thanjavur study that takes the cake. Consider this: something as simple as having hot idli sambar in takeaway polythene bags can pose a risk to your hormonal balance. In a 2016 study, samples of hot sambar and hot tea packed in plastic bags were collected from three major food and drink business centres around Thanjavur, including a tea shop and restaurant. Phthalate leachates were found in sambar, proving that they are highly soluble in oily food; none were found in the tea. Srinivasan K. Srinivasan K. “DEHP, a plasticiser, can migrate from packaging into fatty food, and leaching of plasticisers into food from packaging is the potential danger of this era,” wrote Srinivasan K. of department of food safety and quality testing, along with Singaravadivel K., at the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur. Fatty food such as milk, butter and meat are most susceptible to such leachates. “Literature review reveals that there is a correlation between phthalate metabolite concentrations in maternal breast milk and sex hormone concentration in male offspring,” said the researchers. The same year, another study by ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health analysed the estimated levels of BPA and phthalates in the plasma of fertile and infertile, non-smoking and non-drinking, urban Indian women, aged 20 to 40 years. BPA was detected in 77 per cent of plasma samples of infertile women and 29 per cent of fertile women. An increasing number of epidemiological studies show a widespread exposure of these chemicals to the general population, including pregnant women, men, children as well as foetuses in India. “The presence of these contaminants in amniotic fluid and cord blood indicates that these may pass transplacentally to the foetus,” read the paper. ”The developing foetus is dependent on sex steroids and thyroid hormones for maturation. These chemicals not only affect the developing embryo, but also have been shown to alter adult ovarian function. Hence, these agents have the potential to disrupt reproductive cyclicity and may also cause trans-generational effects by targeting oocyte maturation and maternal sex chromosomes.” In the ICMR-NIRRH research, the infertile women who showed high levels of EDCs had been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, two of the most widely reported causes of infertility among women in India. “Almost 30-35 per cent of my patients in the reproductive age group report PCOS, while 20 per cent suffer from the pain of living with endometriosis,” said Mumbai-based infertility specialist Dr Rishma Pai. In his 2015 study, ‘Endometriosis: the clinical experience of 500 patients from India’, Dr Rahul Gajbhiye, head, Clinical Research Lab & Andrology Clinic at ICMR-NIRRH in Mumbai, stated that 2.6 crore women in India suffer from endometriosis. “In the cohort of women with endometriosis, 66 per cent women either had primary or secondary infertility and 33 per cent had history of miscarriage,” stated the study. Is there a link between EDCs and endometriosis? In 2006, Dr B.S. Reddy, department of reproductive medicine, Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre in Hyderabad, evaluated the possible association between phthalate esters—EDCs used as plasticisers in nail polishes, hair sprays, solvents and perfumes—and the occurrence of endometriosis in Indian women. He collected blood samples from 49 infertile women with endometriosis and compared it with women free from the disease. The study clearly showed that “women with endometriosis showed significantly higher concentrations of phthalates, thereby suggesting that they may be causing endometriosis in Indian women”. It is similar with PCOS, too. “In humans, cross-sectional data suggests that BPA concentrations are higher in women with PCOS than in reproductively healthy women,” said Dubey of Toxic Links. BPA, she added, also disrupts normal metabolic activity, making the body prone to obesity. “In women undergoing IVF, those with the top 25 per cent body load of BPA levels were 211 per cent more likely to have implantation failure,” said Dr Pallavi Priyadarshini of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital, Mumbai. KEEP CALM AND ‘CARRY’ ON Long before EDCs gained attention, experts have been warning about the impact of a hectic lifestyle on libido and sex drive among young Indian couples. Chitramani Mukhopadhyay, a fashion designer from Kolkata, was frustrated at not being able to conceive after three years of marriage. All their tests were normal. It was the stress, they later figured. “But it is the chicken and egg situation. We are stressed, which is leading to infertility, which, in turn, is causing us more stress,” she said, almost laughing. A study by the department of clinical psychology at Manipal University in 2016 found that 80 per cent of women had infertility-specific stress. The level of cortisol and alpha-amylase in saliva can be considered as a major biomarker of stress and anxiety. A 2018 research conducted by Barnali Ray Basu from the department of physiology, Surendranath College in Kolkata found that “increased salivary cortisol levels were seen in the PCOS population, suggesting a sustained stress scenario in their system. Men, too, suffer from a ‘dip in the mood’ resulting from hectic work routines”. A 2020 report by ADP India, a global payroll and compliance expertise company, based on a survey of 1,908 workers in India, stated that stress levels among the Indian workforce were significantly higher than the Asia-Pacific average of 60 per cent. “I have clearly seen the change in the sperm count among our regular donors when they come to us after a vacation,” said Agatsya bank’s Choksi. “It is significantly higher and an indication of how everyday stress lowers the libido and sperm count in men. Curiously, most either do not believe it or simply brush it aside.” A case in point: Arnav Nawadh. Only after speaking to his andrologist did the 30-year-old realise that his sperm count and motility were dropping drastically because of regular hardcore gym workouts and sauna, along with holding up a stressful bank job. Dr Aditi Dani Dr Aditi Dani In the case of Simaira Vipuldas and her husband, stress was a major factor contributing to their inability to conceive naturally. So, Simaira quit her job as a customer relationship manager with a leading publishing company. “Throughout the years I worked, I gained close to 20kg due to the erratic lifestyle,” she said. “Work pressure and the accompanying exhaustion resulting from daily travel further added to the stress. I knew I had to prioritise having a child, else it won’t work out ever.” It took the couple six years to conceive after Simaira was diagnosed with PCOS. As per a study by the PCOS Society in India, one in every 10 women has PCOS and resulting infertility. “PCOS is undeniably a lifestyle-related problem and it is the number one reason for infertility among women,” said Dr Shashank Joshi, vice president, PCOS Society of India. In the past two-and-a-half decades, there has been a complete shift in the infertility picture in India, said Dani of Masina Hospital. “Back when I started my practice, India reported infertility cases that were direct, in the sense that they had a clear medical or biological cause,” she said. “But now, we are observing a very lifestyle-related infertility that stems from increasing age, late marriages due to career goals, putting family planning on the back burner and from the kind of chemicals and pollutants we are exposed to.” Women as young as 25 have very few good quality eggs left, she added. “The thing is that now in men and women, the ratio of hormones is itself being attacked. The ratios are being changed by the way the chemicals interact with the hormones in-utero,” said Dani. This has led to the coinage of ‘unexplained infertility’, an oft-used term these days. This happens when all other biological and medical parameters are normal, yet a couple cannot conceive even after a full year of trying. “In over 25 per cent of infertility cases, no detectable cause can be traced after routine tests, which leaves the case as unexplained infertility,” said Dr Naina Kumar, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, in her research on trends in male factor infertility. After four miscarriages, Abha Devdutta was thrilled when her next pregnancy progressed easily to 12 weeks. She was 35 then. But when she went to get herself checked for any chromosomal abnormalities in the foetus, it was found that she had once again lost the baby. Devastated, the couple has since given up on parenthood. “It is bewildering, because each of our tests has come out normal and we have no medical or biological problems at all,” she said. She has now switched to a simple and healthy lifestyle—no more junk food, late night bingeing on food and flicks, no hoarding of plastics at home. “At present, we are taking each day as it comes,” she said. “Until we think of trying once again, we are enjoying the love of our nephews and nieces.” In India, about 10-20 per cent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. “Yes, we are observing more miscarriages now than a decade or so ago,” said Parikh. “But it is not just related to women. Even if female fertility, as is common knowledge, has a best before date of 35, while the fertility shelf life for men extends to 45-50 years, we are now learning that as the semen quality is going down, the risk of miscarriages is going up because of bad sperm.” A lot of that has to do with smoking, said Dr Kshitiz Murdia, cofounder and CEO of Indira IVF. “Several studies have shown that in comparison to non-smokers, active smokers have 14 per cent more chances of suffering from infertility and 30 per cent more chances of early menopause,” he said. Puffs aside, another addiction that may impact our reproductive health is our device dependence. Radiations from cell phones, laptops, Wi-Fi or microwave ovens may affect sperm development and quality. “Studies reveal that exposure to cell phones, microwave ovens, laptops or Wi-Fi produces deleterious effects on the testes, which may affect sperm count, morphology, motility, an increased DNA damage…,” wrote Dr Ashok Agarwal, director of research at the American Centre for Reproductive Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, in his research on effects of non-ionising radiations that come from cell phones, laptops and microwaves. The next time someone chides you for propping the laptop on your lap, just heed their advice. For, Agarwal and his team have found that the exposure of sperms to a wireless internet-connected laptop decreased motility. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the direct impact of laptop use on human spermatozoa,” he said. “Keeping a laptop connected wirelessly to the internet on the lap near the testes may result in decreased male fertility.” He rued the fact that there is limited research on protective measures. THE WAR WITHIN T. Velpandiyan, professor at AIIMS, is currently concluding a study where he and his team are trying to figure out which type of EDCs are present in excess in water resources in NCR and its impact on citizens, as when water gets contaminated, it can easily get into the food cycle. He revealed that soya milk contributes to infertility, too, as it contains a compound called genistein, which is a mimic of actual oestrogen hormone, and hence is also called as phytoestrogen. “If any male takes it then he will slowly have a lesser sperm count and reduced libido,” he said. Until a point, the chemicals, including bisphenols, get metabolised in the body as the body has a detoxifying mechanism. Beyond that, when the concentration of these chemicals exceeds the prescribed limits, problems come up. But these limits are set by European and WHO standards; India has no such prescribed limits. Velpandiyan and his team are trying to rectify that. But the problem is that many of these EDCs in India are non-degradable. With our tropical climate, any toxin is expected to degrade, said Pandiyan. “But shockingly, many get accumulated in groundwater and borewells and thereby enter the food chain,” he said. “While in China, they know the levels of each and every chemical and the contamination it causes, in India, we have not done such research. We do know that there is a large presence of EDCs but not exactly in what measurements do they contribute to human health damage. One reason for this is whenever we apply for such research, the funding agency seems uninterested.” Alka Dubey Alka Dubey Also, India has been dragging its feet on regulating the EDCs. It did so with regulations regarding pesticides in carbonated water. That was despite the Centre for Science and Environment twice finding high levels of pesticides and insecticides—high enough to cause birth defects, damage to reproductive systems and severe disruption of the immune system—in soft drinks sold in India, including market leaders Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was only three years after the second study in 2006 that the health ministry notified standards for pesticide levels in carbonated water. “In the past, we had found pesticides in bottled water and soft drinks, which meant that companies were not taking adequate measures to avoid their presence,” said Amit Khurana of CSE. “It also told us that pesticides are present in groundwater. We had also found pesticides in the blood of farmers, which means that pesticides can accumulate in our bodies.” He added that while it was clear that pesticide misuse is common in Indian agriculture, “even those pesticides that are considered hazardous are not regulated the way they should be”. The same is the case with phthalates. “As awareness regarding these among people grows, some cosmetic and children toy brands, for instance, are proactively mentioning their products as paraben- and phthalate-free,” said Das of Fakir Mohan University. “But there is no regulation mandating that products be phthalate-free or within certain limits.” But India is taking baby steps. Take, for instance, the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), yet another group of EDCs that are used widely in industrial applications in India, from fire-fighting foams to non-stick pans and textile coatings. A 2008 study found significant PFAS levels in breast milk of women from Chidambaram, Kolkata and Chennai. Last September, BIS announced that it was developing a framework for regulating PFAS by adopting international standards. “We are controlling the use of EDCs by prescribing the limits specified in the relevant Indian standards that are referred to in various regulations,” said Nagamani T., head, petroleum, coal and related products department, BIS. “Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020, is one of the best examples in this regard.” But do these regulations make real impact? Take, for instance, the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which was passed the same year as the sambar study publication, increasing the minimum thickness of plastic bags from 40 to 50 microns. However, as Srinivasan said, “Only thing is that the possibility of leaching of phthalates will be less if the plastic bags are above 50 microns. But most of the plastic covers in which we get food, as per my observations, are well below this limit.” Infertility issues have always been there, but they were never this grave or alarming. While the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the stress we take and our sleep patterns all contribute to infertility, the most crucial factor is the one that has penetrated every aspect of our lives—endocrine disrupting chemicals. Time for a pregnant pause?

Centre for Science & Environment to organise online training on water audit and conservation in industries from July 19 - August 1

This training has been designed with an objective to provide a wider understanding on the aspects of water audit, advanced treatment technologies, wastewater management and recycling. ''Increasing industrial production especially in water intensive industries is already putting pressure on the limited freshwater resources in India as well as worldwide. This coupled with increased water demand from other sectors like infrastructure development, agriculture, domestic, etc. is leading to major conflicts over water availability. Sourcing water and managing wastewater is becoming increasingly difficult & expensive and hence is an important aspect for sustainability of any industry. Industries which are heavily dependent on water for their production have to cut down on their production at times due to scarcity of water. Therefore, it is very critical that industries use water judiciously and reduce its water footprint as much as possible in order to be sustainable in future,'' Centre for Science & Environment said in its brochure. It further said that water use optimization, improving water accounting systems, identifying water losses and opportunities for water savings can serve as an effective approach for reducing water consumption. Also, efficient wastewater treatment technologies and recycling and reuse practices can further bring down consumption and effluent generation. Further, substantial costs which are associated with water & wastewater management like water sourcing, cost of pumping (energy), cost of water treatment (chemicals), cost of effluent treatment & disposal, etc. can be effectively reduced through better water and wastewater management and through periodic conduction of water audits. ''Understanding the relevance of the subject, CSE has developed a two-week online course (12 hours per week) on water audit and conservation in industries. The online course is self-paced wherein pre-recorded video sessions from experts, presentations and other reading material will be uploaded on CSE’s online training platform on a daily basis. Additionally, 2-3 live online sessions will be organised with all the experts for taking up queries over the weekend,'' it added.

Indian economists and activists talk climate change and India’s COVID-19 response

A panel of Indian economists and activists discussed India’s COVID-19 outbreak and environmental crises during a virtual event Wednesday. The panelists addressed health concerns India faces from climate change and the spread of the coronavirus, prompting solutions like governmental reform and improvements for sanitation infrastructure. The Institute for International Economic Policy and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies hosted the event – which was moderated by Jay Shambaugh, the co-director of the institute. Sunita Narain, the director general for the Centre for Science and Environment, said India is facing conditions similar to an “apocalypse” as devastating coronavirus outbreaks in the country have left at least a quarter of a million people dead. She said Indians need to understand why the country failed to effectively fight COVID-19 in order to ensure the country is ready for larger issues like climate change. “There’s a human tendency to say ‘let’s not discuss the causes, let’s not discuss the fundamental reasons right now – right now we just need to talk about how we move ahead,’” she said. “You can only move ahead when you understand the nature of the crisis that has brought you to this.” Narain said in addition to the pandemic, India is facing an imminent crisis in climate change due to its dependence on the monsoons, which have become increasingly inconsistent every year. The monsoon season, which runs from June to September, is vital for the growth of crops like rice and soybeans as a decrease in crop production harms India’s economy, she said. Laveesh Bhandari, a senior fellow at The Centre for Social and Economic Progress, said he fears the Indian government will be unable to respond to climate change issues as it failed to listen to experts during the COVID-19 outbreak. He said the government needs to be able to listen to both global experts and those in the Indian private sector in order to adequately solve large-scale climate issues. “What we did not do in the case of COVID, we haven’t been doing in the case of the environment,” he said. “That’s something that we know is a classic problem: we are unable to work with the private sector, we are unable to listen to expertise.” Bhandari said India’s ineffective response to the pandemic is partially to blame as too much power is centralized with the prime minister, complicating the country’s ability to address mass health emergencies like the COVID-19 outbreaks. He said India needs more local forms of government, like mayors in cities, that allow for a more specialized response to crises depending on the region. “Essentially, the Indian constitution still tends to follow a very basic, colonial style of power allocation,” he said. “I think we do need to get into a more disaggregated mode, and one important part of that is, for the cities at least, a mayoral form of government at the city level.” Muthukumara Mani, a lead economist for the World Bank, said water contamination and health problems caused by climate change may have directly affected India’s COVID-19 crisis by further weakening Indians’ health and worsening symptoms. He said environmental sanitation programs like Swachh Bharat, which aims to safely manage waste throughout India, are effective but not enough to handle India’s environmental problems. “Air pollution continues to be a major challenge in the country and may have even exaggerated the COVID impacts,” he said. “Although we have made some progress in sanitation through the Swachh Bharat campaign, water quality continues to be of major concern and so is water security.” Mani said resources in India should be used to assist in decreasing COVID-19 cases and to ensure vaccination availability for all Indians before taking on climate change issues and rebuilding its economy. “The priority right now in India should be on health and health alone,” he said.

Branded Content: Hyundai Creta - Paws and effect

A hospitality industry professional, along with Panaji’s Civic Commissioner, is making the city a model worthy of emulating in animal welfare. We drive down to Goa in the All New Hyundai Creta to learn more about their work. Ventilated seats are a wonderful thing, especially when you are on a long drive at the height of the Indian summer. The large, ‘air conditioned’ seats are not the only features you appreciate in the All New Hyundai Creta. There is also the full-length panoramic sunroof, the premium Bose sound system and the slick 10.25-inch touchscreen; the airy cabin that has been created out of tastefully chosen material; and the legroom at the rear. All of these come together to provide an experience unlike any other when you are out on the road as we are right now. And each passing kilometre is evidence of Hyundai’s ability to set the bar ever higher. The subjects of this story are also high achievers – one is the Commissioner of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) and the other, a hospitality industry professional. The two have come together to make Goa’s capital worthy of emulating when it comes to animal welfare. The journey of Sanjit Rodrigues and Sanchita Banerjee-Rodrigues, too, began, about decades ago, and our destination is the Panjim Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) where we expect to learn more about it. Sanjit Rodrigues describes PAWS as a movement that came through because of cooperation between citizens and the government. “I’d term it as a C to G and G to C initiative — citizens to government and government to citizens. It represents a partnership between animal welfare organisations, animal lovers and citizens who can donate,” says Rodrigues. PAWS existed as an informal animal shelter in the late 1990s, but it all really started coming together over a decade and a half ago during Rodrigues’ earlier stint as CCP Commissioner. Rodrigues was the spearhead of Bin Free 2003, a city revitalisation and solid waste management programme that focused on behavioural change among its residents, community engagement, and door-to-door waste collection and waste segregation at source. The campaign steadily built up momentum, and within a decade, Panjim became a zero-landfill, bin-free city. In 2016, it bagged the Centre for Science and Environment’s Clean City Award. But, in its early days, it threw up a concomitant problem — dog bites. “With their major source of food gone, street dogs started getting aggressive and there were several reports of dog bites. That’s how initiatives such as PAWS came into the picture,” says Rodrigues. Sanchita Banerjee-Rodrigues is the beating heart of PAWS, and it is apparent the moment she drives into the dog shelter that is located on Avenido Teofilo Braga. She soaks in the affection of the dogs at the centre and reciprocates it in equal measure. Running a dog shelter involves more than just loving dogs to bits. One doesn’t just take care of abandoned dogs — there are also injured dogs, dogs with skin infections, blind dogs, old dogs and pups. Dogs have to sterilised and treated and spayed and fed, and there has to be constant communication with a network of volunteers. It requires both, patience and an ability to manage people and time, and her experience as a former bureaucrat probably comes in handy. About a decade ago, Sanchita, a hospitality industry professional, took a break from her job to join the then Goa Chief Minister, the late Manohar Parikkar’s office as a press liaison officer, and continued to work with him when he became defence minister. She also served as an Officer on Special Duty to the Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, before heading back to Goa to resume her job with a luxury hotel chain. “Running a dog shelter is like solving a jigsaw puzzle every day. It is also a community effort. Everyone chips in — the land belongs to the government, restaurants supply us with food waste, vets donate their time, and we have volunteers who feed stray dogs across the city. We cook food for over 200 dogs here, both, at the centre which are yet to be adopted or cured, and for many other street dogs in Panjim,” says Sanchita, who, at times, drives off late at night to rescue dogs injured in accidents. Sanchita, whose long association with PAWS has seen her graduate from volunteer to trustee, says that efforts such as thorough documentation and constant follow-ups have paid rich dividends. “For the last three years, no rabies cases have been reported in Panjim,” she says. Panjim is mostly a nice city to drive in. It has wide boulevards lined with acacia and Gulmohar trees; the Latin Quarter of Fontainhas with its narrow lanes and colourful homes; and brightly lit cafes with a view of the ocean. The All New Hyundai is equally at home in Panjim, as it is on the highways that brought it here, and all it takes is a quick drive in the Creta to understand why it has been the ultimate SUV for over half a decade. The SUV’s refined 115hp, 1,493cc BS6 diesel engine has a broad spread of torque available across the rev range, which helps it swallow highways as well as adapt to city traffic. The All New Hyundai Creta’s ride is composed and well-planted, irrespective of the kind of terrain you are on. A special mention must be made here about the clutch and gear-shift action that is possibly amongst the smoothest around, and the Blue Link connected car system, which, with over 50 connectivity features, integrates technology seamlessly into the time consumers spend on the road.

India and the elusive demographic dividend

As this ‘pandemic generation’ joins the workforce in an economy that is failing to provide adequate employment opportunities to its current strength, India’s chances of levering upon its demographic dividend are soon becoming obscure. There is little to no hope that things will be any different moving forward. India has long been touted as the next big economic growth story after China. One of the primary reasons for that has been its young population. The hope has remained that as the young Indian population enters the working age, it will lead to higher economic growth – a demographic dividend. The window began in 2018 when the working age population began to grow larger than its dependent population – children aged 14 years or below and people above 65 years of age. It is expected to last for 37 years until 2055. But will India manage to gain through this bulging working population? The link between population changes and economic growth has been a long-standing curiosity. It can be traced back to Thomas Malthus’ infamous treatise from 1798 where he argued that human population had a tendency to outstrip all possible means of subsistence, which keeps the world eternally trapped in poverty. Thus, human population and economic growth were tied in a zero-sum game limited by the availability of food. This observation was true in the world around Malthus as it was constrained by the fixed resources for growing food and slow technological progress. But recent history has proved Malthus wrong. Since the end of the Second World War, global population has more than doubled and the per capita GDP of the world has risen by over five times. The rapid technological progress in the post-Malthusian world has made population an asset rather than a burden. Many Asian economies — including Japan, South Korea, and China — were able to benefit from the rise in their working population. This has been possible in the modern world due to fall in fertility rates through contraceptive usage and increase in life expectancy through scientific advancements in modern medicine. And these Asian economies managed to engage their population in productive employment, which enabled sustained periods of high growth. So, the expectations from India have been immense to reap similar demographic dividends. But the mere existence of technology in the modern world is not sufficient to overcome the Malthusian trap. There are two further prerequisites: ample availability of productive employment and the capability to make use of available technologies. India is lacking on both fronts. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, unemployment levels in India had hit a 45-year high. As of 2017-18, only half of the people in the working age were actually working. In 2004-05, the same proportion was 63.7 per cent. Moreover, the troubled scenario of education and skills is evident from the Pratham surveys that are released each year. In 2018, it showed that just half of the children in the 5th standard could read a text from the 2nd standard. The pandemic has worsened the situation. The latest State of India’s Environment report released by the Centre for Science and Environment finds that an astounding 375 million children may suffer long-lasting impacts due to the pandemic including being underweight and stunted, which will lead to losses in education and economic productivity. Government programmes like mid-day meal schemes, which encouraged school enrolment have taken a hit during the pandemic. Even those students who managed to remain enrolled have face difficulties in accessing education due to the vast digital divides across income groups. As this ‘pandemic generation’ joins the workforce in an economy that is failing to provide adequate employment opportunities to its current strength, India’s chances of levering upon its demographic dividend are soon becoming obscure. There is little to no hope that things will be any different moving forward. The possibility of India falling into a ‘middle-income trap’ are higher than the chances of reaping a demographic dividend. Countries fall into a ‘middle-income trap’ because they easily escape abject poverty in early stages of development through simple mobilization of labour and capital. But once these gains are made, a different level of institutional quality is required. As the economy matures, the need for complex contracts, smooth enforcement, and effective regulation are needed. If institutional capacity is weak to enable these processes, growth stalls. India has failed to strengthen the foundations of state institutions. In 2017, Lant Pritchett and other researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School made an assessment of state capability from 1996 to 2012 for 102 countries. They found that the state capability in India had worsened over that period. Their study implied that countries like India are stuck in a “capability trap” where they know the destination and the route needed to be taken but lack the ability to implement the strategy to do so. The repercussions of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic showcase this inability in the most unfortunate manner. Pages after pages have been filled on what India needs to do over the last few decades in the hope of benefiting from its demographic dividend when the moment arrives. The moment is here, and the country is nowhere near shifting its economic trajectory. Malthus’ pessimism with population seems to be more appropriate today than any demographic optimism.