India moves up two notches on the Global Hunger Index
With its rank at 63 this year, India has moved up two spots on the Global Hunger Index brought out by the International Food Policy Research Institute every year. However, at more than 40%, India still has the highest number of malnourished children under five years of age. Among the 78 countries studied, India's score was 21.3, keeping the country in the orange category tagged ‘alarming’ level of hunger as per the study. The GHI score is based on three factors: the proportion of undernourished people, the proportion of children under five who are underweight and the mortality rate of children below the age of five years.
Churu on its way to total sanitation
The desert district in Rajasthan will soon be open defecation free, thanks to the local administration's promotion of a government subsidy scheme and the community's enthusiastic response. Termed the dirtiest city in the country by the Planning Commission three years ago, people in Churu have taken to building toilets in each house using a subsidy under the centrally funded Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarentee programme. Slow disbursal of the subsidy amount, however, discourages people.
Phailin gone, it's drinking water shortage that plagues Orissa now
As the cyclone flooded the drinking water sources in Orissa, people staying in relief camps don't have access to clean drinking water. 200 people, including 45 children in Ganjam district fell sick after drinking contaminated water. According to residents, more than 5 lakh people have no access to clean drinking water and many relief camps don't have basic sanitation.
Water released from dams inundates 300 villages in West Bengal
More than 1 lakh people were rendered homeless when water released from the dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation in Jharkhand flooded 300 villages in five districts of West Bengal. The floods followed heavy rain triggered by cyclone Phailin. The rivers that were flooded include Suvarnarekha, Kansavati, Rupnarayan and Damodar. People protested outside the Corporation's office in Durgapur for releasing water without prior notice.
Hotels depleting ground water in Goa: CAG
The Comptoller and Auditor General of India has warned that increasing tourist infrastructure in North Goa is leading to water stress in coastal areas. A study by the state water resource department in the 11 coastal villages of North Goa proved this assertion with ground water level in the tourist hubs of Anjuna and Calangute having gone down from 0.5 to 1 metre.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from October 14-20. Also read last week's policy matters updates.