Central team in Kerala to visit Nipah-affected areas
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Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Nipah surveillance: 33 removed from contact list in Kerala as 648 remain under watch
Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 648 people are currently on the Nipah virus contact list across several districts in Kerala, as per a statement from the office of State Health Minister Veena George. Of the total, 421 are from Palakkad, 110 from Malappuram, 115 from Kozhikode, and one each from Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. This also includes 17 people who remain in isolation in Palakkad. In Malappuram, 13 people are currently under isolation. The district has so far reported 97 sample tests, all of which have returned negative. Notably, 21 people from Malappuram and 12 from Palakkad have completed their isolation period and have been removed from the contact list, the statement read. Across the state, 30 people are under the "highest risk surveillance" category, while 97 others have been identified as part of the high-risk group, it added. Meanwhile, Health Minister George has also directed the One Health Centre for Nipah Research to document all matters related to the outbreak. Notably, an ICMR team visited Malappuram to assess the situation. On July 14, Kerala's Palakkad district reported a second Nipah case after a 58-year-old man from Kumaramputhur near Mannarkkad tested positive for the virus following his demise at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna. According to officials, field-level activities have been intensified in the area. Fever surveillance is also continuing. Further monitoring will be carried out, including the mobile tower location. The minister also directed the team to be strengthened in case another case is found. Ten people are currently under treatment in Malappuram, of whom two are in intensive care. The state has now categorised 36 individuals as being in the highest-risk group and 128 under high-risk monitoring. An alert has also been issued to hospitals in 6 districts in the wake of the second Nipah case. A special alert has been issued to hospitals in Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Thrissur districts along with directions to report any case of fever or encephalitis with Nipah symptoms.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
SC adds NHRC to PIL for law on mental health care
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the National Human Right Commission to be made a party to the PIL for the implementation of a 2017 law on safeguarding the rights and needs of persons with mental illnesses. A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar asked petitioner Gaurav Kumar Bansal to file an application to make rights body NHRC a party to the PIL filed in 2018. The bench said the PIL may be transferred to the NHRC for implementing the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Bansal said a committee headed by a former apex court judge could be set up to oversee the implementation. "We cannot create a parallel mechanism just because the existing system has any flaws," the bench said. The bench, in the meantime, asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, to share its affidavit with Bansal and posted the hearing after three weeks. The bench had previously said Parliament enacted the Mental Healthcare Act in 2017 which contemplates establishment of "Central Mental Health Authority (CMHA), State Mental Health Authority (SMHA) and Mental Health Review Board (MHRB)". The top court on March 2 directed Centre to file an affidavit indicating the establishment and functioning of the Central Mental Health Authority, State Mental Health Authority and Mental Health Review Board. The affidavit was further ordered to show the statutory and mandatory appointments to the authority and the review board. On January 3, 2019, the apex court issued notices to the Centre, all states and Union Territories on the petition which has claimed that non-implementation of provisions of the Act by the states and UTs was a gross violation of life and liberty of the citizens. Taking note of an incident, the bench said chaining people with mental illness was violative of their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which deals with life and personal liberty, and their dignity cannot be compromised. The PIL argued persons with mental illnesses were chained in a faith-based mental asylum in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh in violation of provisions of the Mental Health Care Act 2017. The court examined the photos of such patients calling it a matter of great concern. The PIL said chaining a person suffering from mental illness was a blatant violation of a provision of the 2017 Act which says that every such person shall not only have a right to live with dignity but he or she shall be protected from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Referring to the National Mental Health Survey 2016, he has claimed that around 14 per cent of India's population requires active mental health interventions and around 2 per cent Indians were suffering from severe mental disorders.>
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Why govt has exempted 78% of coal-based thermal plants from installing anti-pollution devices
The Environment Ministry on July 11 exempted the majority of India's coal-based thermal plants from installing systems that are designed to remove sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, a key contributor to air pollution. Known as flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) devices, these systems cut SO2 from flue gas, which is a residue from thermal plants. Of the remaining plants, those around Delhi-NCR have to comply with a December 2027 deadline, and the rest will be asked to fit the devices on a case-to-case basis. Originally, these plants had to install FGD devices by 2017. However, over the years, they have received several extensions to comply. What is the reason behind the Centre's move? What do the revised rules exactly say? And why have some experts criticised the decision? Once released into the atmosphere, SO2 usually reacts with ammonia (NH3) to produce ammonium sulfate, which is responsible for roughly one-third of India's fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution, according to recent research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). PM2.5 is injurious to human health as it can lead to chronic diseases such as asthma, heart attack, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems. Direct exposure to high levels of SO2 can irritate the eyes, throat, and lungs. Long-term exposure can result in increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and premature death, according to CREA. SO2 also affects the environment as it contributes to the formation of acid rain, which can damage ecosystems. One of the biggest sources of SO2 emissions in India is the power sector, especially the coal-based thermal plants. The CREA research found the SO2 levels were higher in 2023 compared to 2019, with a notable increase in regions dominated by coal-based thermal plants. This highlighted 'the influence of power plant emissions on air quality', the research said. In 2015, the Environment Ministry notified the first-ever emission norms for control of SO2 and other harmful substances from coal-based thermal plants. These were required to install FGD devices by December 2017. However, this did not happen as the deadline was extended four times at the request of thermal plants. They argued that the installation of FGD devices was costly, and could cause several issues such as disruption of power supply due to shutdown for installation, and an increase in electricity bills. To address these concerns, the Centre amended the emission norms in 2021. It put 596 coal-based thermal plant units (one thermal plant can have multiple units) in three categories. Category A: Plants located within a 10 km radius of the National Capital Region (NCR) or cities having a million-plus population. Their deadline for compliance was 2022. Category B: Plants located within a 10 km radius of critically polluted areas or non-attainment cities. Their deadline was 2023. Category C: Remaining plants whose deadline was 2024. Note that nearly 78% of the plants were put in Category C. About 11% were in Category A, and the rest were in Category B. The latest change in the norms has exempted Category C plants from installing FGD devices. Category A plants, which are in operation and under construction, have to comply by the end of 2027. The Centre will decide compliance for Category B plants on a case-by-case basis. The Environment Ministry has also said that plants which are supposed to retire before December 2030 will not be required to meet the SO2 emission norms, provided they submit an undertaking for exemption. According to the Centre, the change in the norms is based on three studies, which suggest FGD devices are not necessary for coal-based thermal plants. These studies have been carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology–Delhi, the National Institute of Advanced Sciences (NIAS), and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The studies have argued against the installation of FGD devices, saying that SO2 levels around the plants are well within the norms prescribed under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. They have also suggested that the government needs to focus on curbing not just SO2 emissions but rather the overall particulate matter pollution around the plants. The IIT-D and NIAS studies have said that while reducing SO2 emissions, the operation of FGD devices has increased carbon dioxide and PM pollution. All three studies were commissioned by the government or its agencies. For example, the NEERI research was commissioned by NITI Aayog. Experts have said that the claim made by the studies that SO2 levels around plants are low is misleading. For instance, CREA in a statement said, 'The air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) don't capture the real impact of power plant pollution because they don't track whether emissions drift upwind or downwind, and they certainly don't account for chemical reactions that convert SO₂ into other pollutants like PM2.5.' A 2021 analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) also contested this claim. It said that plumes from power stations travel long distances of 300 km, and during this time, they get converted to secondary pollutants. The analysis also found that the atmospheric lifetime of SO2 was about 10 days.
