KMC's sanitation campaigns fail to keep city clean

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Every day Dambar Bahadur Naral, a security guard at the Nepal Medical Association, has to clean away the refuse pile dumped in front of his office to open the main gate. 
It has been his daily routine in the last 13 years. Naral is fed up with the negligence of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) office, a major body to maintain wastage in Kathmandu city. 

“I joined this office some 13 years ago and I have been cleaning the refuses from the first day of my job,” said Naral. “The problem of refuse is always same here. If the KMC office does not maintain the wastage of the capital city, then what is the office for?”
Naral, 52, said that along with the KMC office, nearby hotels and other shops are also responsible for the piles of refuse in front of his office. “They use this place as a dumping site and sometime the rickshaw which is operated by the KMC office, to collect the refuse, also dumps the collected refuse here only,” he added.
“Once we had submitted a letter to the KMC office, requesting them to clean the road and collect all the refuse,” said Naral. “As per our request letter, they sent garbage truck and collected all the refuse. By then, they did not come again which means we have to send letters regularly in order to clean the refuse.”
Like Naral, Januka Adhikari, 30, is also facing the problem of wastages. Adhikari, who has been operating her cosmetic shop on a pulling cart at Kalanki, is compelled to run her shop near the pile of refuse as that place is the closest to her room.
“I have been operating here for the last one year and I have not seen any garbage van collecting the refuses from here,” said Adhikari. “But I have seen people throwing wastage. The concerned authority should collect the refuse regularly so that people would not have to face so many problems. Not only me but all the people who cross this road have been facing the same problem." 
According to her, the refuse could be harmful for children´s health as well. So, the concerned authority must collect the refuse timely. 
Tons of wastes have piled up on many street of the capital city. Despite the fact that the KMC office has been organizing special cleanliness campaigns, the problem of waste is still the same. 

The KMC office is organizing a seven-day cleanliness campaign from today to mark 18th anniversary of its establishment. Some of the officials gathered today and organized various plans along with cleaning the capital city. Similarly, they have also informed all the wards of Kathmandu to carry out cleanliness campaign in their respective wards. The KMC office will celebrate its anniversary on December 14. 
“We have organized a cleaning campaign on the anniversary of our office,” said Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of Environment Management Division at KMC office. “Our campaign will help to increase awareness among the people.”
The KMC office has organized a number of such campaigns in the past but none of them have had any noticeable effect on the cleanliness of the capital city.
source: myrepublica.com

Air pollution giving Capital denizens a cough

KATHMANDU: The ongoing road expansion drive has given rise to various respiratory disease in the Kathmandu Valley. 

According to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, it has recorded 831 patients of pneumonia, 676 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 114 of asthma and 144 of bronchitis since July. 

“Number of people suffering from various respiratory diseases has doubled since the road-widening drive began,” said Dr Dirgha Singh Bam, a former health secretary. “Though the government’s road expansion initiative is appreciable, it has not been well-organised.”

According to World Health Organisation, air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions, including respiratory infections, heart diseases and lung cancer.

Air pollution causes breathing difficulty, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, skin diseases, allergy, wheezing and coughing problems. The problems caused due to air pollution is broad, however, it mostly affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. 

“The government could have prevented this problem by expediting the road construction and carrying out the works at night,” Dr Bam said. 

According to WHO standards‚ the level of Particulate Matter10 should be 20 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3). The Ministry of Environment informed that the PM-10 concentration in ambient air was recorded at up to 699 µg/m3 against 120 µg/m3, the national ambient air quality standards in Kathmandu in March. 

The air pollution in Kathmandu is mainly attributed to vehicular emissions. The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division says that on-duty traffic cops can be taken as indicator to the adverse health hazards triggered by the air pollution as they perform duty by standing at least 18 hours on the roads daily. 

According to statistics, an average of four traffic cops are taken ill daily due to exposure to dust particles and exhaust, prompting the MTPD to organise health camps from time to time.

Source: The Himalayan Times
5th December, 2013

Nepal’s Female Community Health Volunteers have paved the way for groundbreaking ideas in the health sector

DEC 05 -

Today, December 5 marks an important milestone—the 25th anniversary of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV).  The idea was simple enough in theory. With the assistance of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations, a cadre of female health practitioners would bring health education and medical outreach services to families throughout the country. In practice, the challenges were enormous, not least Nepal’s underdeveloped infrastructure and extreme geography.  

Now, 25 years later, I can confidently say the project has been a huge success.  Since its inception in 1988, the FCHV programme has proven to be a key factor in Nepal’s dramatic reduction in maternal and child mortality.  Today, there are about 52,000 FCHV members working across the country’s 75 districts.  They are a vital pillar of Nepal’s public health sector and have saved the lives of tens of thousands of people who would otherwise have died from unnecessary causes.

December 5 is also commemorated worldwide as International Volunteer’s Day. And who better to be honoured on this day than Female Community Health Volunteers, who serve as Nepal’s frontline public health workers? In congratulating these special, dedicated women, let me cite a few of their most impressive achievements:

सर्लाहीमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप

सर्लाहीमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप

दूषित पानीले यहाँको चुरेफेदीको परवानीपुर १ सतभैया टोलमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप फैलिएको छ । प्रकोप बढेपछि स्वास्थ्यकर्मीको टोलीले गाउँमा पुगेर उपचार गरिरहेको छ । शनिबार बिहान गाउँमा पखाला फैलिएपछि उपचारका लागि लालबन्दी प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्रमा लगिएको थियो ।

'पूरै गाउँमा एकै पटक झाडापखाला फैलियो,' स्थानीय दिलबहादुर रेग्मीले भने, 'टाउको दुख्ने, बान्ता हुने र पखाला लाग्ने भयो ।' गाउँलेले प्रयोग गर्ने साझा इनारको पानी दूषित भएर झाडापखाला फैलिएको अनुमान छ । एक्कासि धेरै बिरामी परेपछि चुनाव प्रचारमा पुगेका उम्मेदवारका गाडीमा उनीहरूलाई अस्पताल लगिएको थियो । १७ जनाको लालबन्दी अस्पतालमा उपचार भइरहेको छ । 'चुनाव प्रचारका गाडी नभएको भए के हुन्थ्यो भन्न सकिन्न,' रेग्मीले भने, 'धेरै जना बिरामी भएकाले आत्तिएर हामी त सोच्नै नसक्ने भएका थियौं ।' लालबन्दी प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्रमा उपचारार्थ भर्ना भएका १२ जना निको भएर आइतबार घर फिर्ता भएका छन् । 

बढी बिरामी ५ जनाको उपचार जारी छ । बिरामी भई अस्पतालमा उपचारार्थ भर्ना भएका टलकबहादुर रानाले सधैंझैं खानेकुरा खाएकाले पानीकै कारण पखाला फैलिएको बताए । 'गाउँमा रहेको इनारको पानी खाने तल्लो टोलका मात्र सबैजसो बिरामी पर्‍यौं,' उनले भने, 'अस्पताल आएका बाहेक गाउँमा पनि उत्तिकै बिरामी छन् ।' शनिबार अस्पताल भर्ना भएका रानालाई आइतबारसम्म निको भएको छैन । अस्पतालकी नर्स कमला भट्टराईले पखाला, बान्ता र टाउको दुख्ने लक्षण बिरामीमा देखिएको बताइन् ।

 

प्रकाशित मिति: २०७० कार्तिक १०

स्रोत :कान्तिपुर दैनिक 

Vet teams to curb flow of unhealthy meat to capital

KATHMANDU, October 1: In a bid to contain the supply of unhealthy and hygienic meat to the capital for the upcoming Dashain festival, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has decided to deploy five teams of veterinary experts at main entry points. 
Traders could supply the livestock to the capital only after the teams vet and clear them, officials at metropolis´ health department said.
Vet doctors will give green label to the healthy animals and red to the unhealthy ones, said Dr Baburam Gautam, Chief of the department. 
The sick or suspicious animals will then be quarantined for 24 hours. [brealk] 
"Quarantined animals will be sent back if their health does not improve within 24 hours," said Narendra Bajracharya, another official at Department.
The officials added that they will strictly prohibit sale and slaughter of sick animals.
They said that the metropolis will also deploy veterinary teams at the livestock markets at Tukuchha, Dillibazar and Koteshwor apart from the major entry points at Nagarjune and Kalanki areas for a week from October 6.
He said that the office will take stern legal action against the traders if they are caught supplying dead animals to or within the metropolis. 
The metropolis has also launched raids against traders involved in the supply of unhealthy animals and meat products. 
Recently, it had carried out a mid night raid following a tip off that a group of meat traders were supplying carcass to the capital. It had seized some dead fowls and goats following the raid.
"We have already taken legal action against such traders," Bajracharya said, adding that the metropolis will hand over the culprits to the police as it lacked law to penalize them. 
The KMC also handed over the carcasses to the District Administration Office, which in turn handed it over to the District Veterinary Office for postmortem. 
The metropolis has also been inspecting the meat markets twice a week in the run up to the festive season.
Published on 2013-10-04 03:24:06
Source: Republica news

Dengue cases on the rise in Jhapa

Dengue , an infectious disease caused by mosquito bite, is taking its toll in Jhapa district lately.

Health workers said 17 people, including 13 from Mechinagar Municipality alone, are found to have been infected with the disease.Lekhnath Khatiwada, assistant health worker at the Kakadvitta Health Post, said dengue cases are found mostly in Kakadvitta and its adjoining areas.

The disease, which is transmitted by female mosquitoes named Aedes aegypti, causes fever and severe pain in the joints.

Bed Prasad Ghimire, official at the District Public Health Office (DPHO), said his office has carried out publicity and awareness programmes in order to control the disease in the affected areas.

The health officials suspect that the disease was transmitted to local people who went to Indian town of Siliguri which is greatly affected by dengue in past few months.

Meanwhile, the number of patients suffering from the disease reached 25 in Parsa district. DPHO chief Arun Kumar Mahato said 12 patients are receiving treatment in various hospitals while 13 others returned homes after treatment.

Posted on: 2013-10-03 08:42 

Source: ekantipur. com

Keep your locality tidy‚ take part in clean up campaign tomorrow

KATHMANDU: The government is launching a ‘Clean Up Nepal’ campaign coinciding with the World Sanitation Day, 2013, on Saturday.
Organising a press conference, the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre today urged all the stakeholders to actively participate in the campaign in order to keep the city and locality clean and tidy. 
This year’s World Sanitation Day slogan is: ‘Our place, our planet, our responsibility’. Nepal is organising the campaign with the slogan ‘Together let’s sparkle Nepal’. 
“We appeal to everyone to participate in the sanitation campaign from their locality from seven in the morning to noon on September 21,” said Sumitra Amatya, Director, SWMTSC. “We need helping hands to make our places clean and healthy,” she added. According to SWMTSC, the campaign will begin at 200 places across the country on Saturday. “Some 10,000 volunteers and 300 different organisations are taking part in the programme,” said Amatya.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Urban Development has formulated a policy on urban development which focuses on waste management, drinking water and sewerage management, pollution control, greenery promotion and enhancing the beauty of cities.
The government has plans to provide universal access to basic drinking water and sanitation facilities to all by 2017 as per the Millennium Development Goals. Water and sanitation traps people in a vicious circle of disease, poverty and cost people their lives, said experts at the press meet today. According to the Ministry of Urban development, only 82 per cent of the population have access to drinking water and only 62 per cent have access to sanitation facilities in Nepal.

Though the data indicates that Nepal has met MDG target on water and sanitation, only 50 per cent of water supply schemes are functional and sustainability of the sanitation practices is still questionable. The World Sanitation Day, which began from 1997, is marked on the second week of September by 130 countries across the world. 
About 35 million people around the world participate in the ‘Clean up the World’ campaign every year.
Source: The Himalayan Times