Latest news with #PrashantYadav
Time of India
22-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
344 trees to make way for key road expansion project in Gurgaon, greens fume
Gurgaon: GMDA has begun felling 344 trees along Vyapar Kendra Road – approximately 2km long – as part of a road expansion project. According to the forest department, permission for felling 344 trees along the master dividing road between sectors 27 and 43 was given on March 12. This comes amid concerns that no concrete plan for afforestation — typically requiring 10 times the number of trees felled — has been announced yet even as environmentalists are livid at the "shrinking green cover in the city". Environment activist Vaishali Rana said, "Permissions were granted to cut down trees, but an afforestation plan has not been submitted to carry out ten times plantation." According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI) report 2023, Haryana's forest cover decreased by 14sqkm from 2021 to 2023, with Gurgaon's tree cover at 12.9% of its geographical area. The FSI report 2021 pointed out that Haryana's forest cover increased by 1sqkm in 2021 compared to 2019. Gurgaon lost 2.5sqkm of forest cover between Oct 2019 and Feb 2020. At the same time, urban clusters such as Gurgaon and Faridabad have rapidly grown to make space for houses, businesses, roads and other infrastructure. For instance, 5,000 trees were felled to make way for flyovers and underpasses on NH8 in Gurgaon in 2017, and a year later, permission was granted to chop down 10,000 trees to widen the Sohna road. Residents and environmentalists have voiced their frustration over the lack of transparency regarding replantation efforts. Residents warn that the loss of these trees will exacerbate air pollution and heat levels in the city. Residents are now urging GMDA to publicly disclose its afforestation strategy and ensure that the city's green cover is restored. Without immediate action, the city risks losing more of its natural shade and worsening environmental conditions. A GMDA official said, "We will identify land soon and carry out afforestation." When asked why they haven't done compensatory plantation, the official said, "We were not aware." Prashant Yadav, a resident of Sushant Lok, said, "We are already struggling with rising temperatures and deteriorating air quality. Cutting down trees without a proper replantation plan is irresponsible." City-based environmentalist Vivek Kamboj said, "The govt has made no efforts to increase the city's green cover over the years and now it again has given a free hand to incompetent civic agencies to fell trees for unnecessary road expansion." "In the stretch where GMDA is planning expansion, the stretch has already reached its ultimate capacity and now felling more than 20-30 years of trees doesn't make sense. Also, the road cannot be expanded at certain stretches because there is already construction, so what is the point of the exercise," Kamboj said. As per the permission letter, the conditions which GMDA needs to fulfil to fell 344 trees are: "Only the numbered trees will be felled. No dragging of wood will be permitted. Felling after sunset and before sunrise will not be permitted. No fire will be allowed." The letter says, "No damage to unmarked trees will be caused during felling in the area and the owner will have to pay the compensation as determined by DFO for any such damage. The owner of the land shall be responsible for any illicit felling in the area and he will have to pay the compensation as determined by DFO for any such illicit felling. Approved subject to compensatory plantation of ten times the number of trees to be felled by the agency. " It is also notable that unlike Delhi, Haryana does not have a Tree Act of its own.
Zawya
21-02-2025
- Health
- Zawya
US aid freeze sows disruption in HIV, malaria product supply chains
The U.S. government's foreign aid freeze has upended the supply chain for medical products crucial for fighting diseases including HIV and malaria in some of the world's poorest countries, and life-threatening gaps could persist for months, according to two sources familiar with the sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) usually places around $600 million of orders annually for products such as medicines, diagnostic tests and equipment like bed nets, as part of one of its biggest health supply contracts including HIV, malaria and reproductive health. But the freeze has put orders and forecasts, particularly those made months in advance, on hold. That will likely have far-reaching implications for deliveries, cost, and timings, according to two sources with knowledge of the global health supply chain and others working in the sector. Companies including the U.S. firm Abbott, Switzerland's Roche, and India's Cipla are all likely to be affected, alongside others including Hologic , Viatris, Hetero and Aurobindo, the first of the sources told Reuters. "We are monitoring the situation closely. Our highest priority is to ensure that patients have continuous access to our diagnostic tests and treatments around the world," said a Roche spokesperson in response to Reuters' questions. The other companies either declined to comment or did not respond. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The first source said waivers from the U.S. government, intended to allow lifesaving work to restart, only applied to orders already moving around the world. Even those were not fully functional as the USAID payment system remained down, he said. Future funding and orders were more uncertain, even for companies where the raw materials have been assembled or the manufacturing capacity booked, he added. Medicines and diagnostic tests for HIV and malaria, as well as preventive tools like bed nets and contraceptives, could be impacted, he said. "There will be a huge backlog," said Fitsum Lakew Alemayehu, the African Union liaison manager at WACI Health, an African advocacy organization. "In Africa, millions have been on those treatments." 'BULLWHIP' EFFECT The dismantling of USAID has already had significant impact across the globe, including shuttering HIV clinics, stranding emergency food aid, and halting research. For medical supplies, the freeze could also hit prices, because companies have been able to operate more efficiently knowing that they would continue to get orders from USAID, all of the sources said. Prashant Yadav, a medical supply chain expert and senior fellow at the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the upheaval could upend this system of advance demand forecasts entirely, hitting prices and ultimately risking budget shortfalls across other buyers, like governments and global health funders. He said it was an example of the "bullwhip" effect in supply chains, where "any small changes, even if they are for a short duration of time, get amplified at every level in the system". The term is derived from a scientific concept in which movements of a whip are amplified from the origin - the hand cracking the whip - to the endpoint. Even if the aid freeze ends after a 90-day review, as the Trump administration originally suggested, restarting production will be complex and there could be legal issues, several experts said. "This is a huge mess to untangle," said Tom Cotter, chief executive officer at Health Response Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring equitable access to health services during emergencies. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, additional reporting by Maggie Fick in London, Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad)
Reuters
21-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US aid freeze sows disruption in HIV, malaria product supply chains
LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's foreign aid freeze has upended the supply chain for medical products crucial for fighting diseases including HIV and malaria in some of the world's poorest countries, and life-threatening gaps could persist for months, according to two sources familiar with the sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) usually places around $600 million of orders annually for products such as medicines, diagnostic tests and equipment like bed nets, as part of one of its biggest health supply contracts including HIV, malaria and reproductive health. But the freeze has put orders and forecasts, particularly those made months in advance, on hold. That will likely have far-reaching implications for deliveries, cost, and timings, according to two sources with knowledge of the global health supply chain and others working in the sector. Companies including the U.S. firm Abbott (ABT.N), opens new tab, Switzerland's Roche (ROG.S), opens new tab, and India's Cipla ( opens new tab are all likely to be affected, alongside others including Hologic (HOLX.O), opens new tab, Viatris (VTRS.O), opens new tab, Hetero and Aurobindo ( opens new tab, the first of the sources told Reuters. "We are monitoring the situation closely. Our highest priority is to ensure that patients have continuous access to our diagnostic tests and treatments around the world," said a Roche spokesperson in response to Reuters' questions. The other companies either declined to comment or did not respond. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The first source said waivers from the U.S. government, intended to allow lifesaving work to restart, only applied to orders already moving around the world. Even those were not fully functional as the USAID payment system remained down, he said. Future funding and orders were more uncertain, even for companies where the raw materials have been assembled or the manufacturing capacity booked, he added. Medicines and diagnostic tests for HIV and malaria, as well as preventive tools like bed nets and contraceptives, could be impacted, he said. "There will be a huge backlog," said Fitsum Lakew Alemayehu, the African Union liaison manager at WACI Health, an African advocacy organization. "In Africa, millions have been on those treatments." 'BULLWHIP' EFFECT The dismantling of USAID has already had significant impact across the globe, including shuttering HIV clinics, stranding emergency food aid, and halting research., opens new tab For medical supplies, the freeze could also hit prices, because companies have been able to operate more efficiently knowing that they would continue to get orders from USAID, all of the sources said. Prashant Yadav, a medical supply chain expert and senior fellow at the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the upheaval could upend this system of advance demand forecasts entirely, hitting prices and ultimately risking budget shortfalls across other buyers, like governments and global health funders. He said it was an example of the "bullwhip" effect in supply chains, where "any small changes, even if they are for a short duration of time, get amplified at every level in the system". The term is derived from a scientific concept in which movements of a whip are amplified from the origin - the hand cracking the whip - to the endpoint. Even if the aid freeze ends after a 90-day review, as the Trump administration originally suggested, restarting production will be complex and there could be legal issues, several experts said. "This is a huge mess to untangle," said Tom Cotter, chief executive officer at Health Response Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring equitable access to health services during emergencies. here.
