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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
City gets its 1st plastic-free street food hub on Russel St
Kolkata: The first civic street food hub in the city rolled up its shutters on Russel Street Wednesday, offering a hygienic and plastic-free experience to customers. On the offer were bhelpuri, chaat, phuchka, paratha, sweets, kachori, chow mein, momo, tea and ice cream among others. Thirty-two food hawkers, who were evicted from roads last year, turned authorised vendors as KMC handed over licences to them at the inaugural programme. Mayor Firhad Hakim unveiled the hub, and the event was attended by deputy mayor Atin Ghosh, MMiC Debasish Kumar, CMOH of KMC Ranita Sengupta and civic food safety and FSSAI officials. Once the place gains popularity, the sellers will also start serving breakfast. A KMC official pointed out that they planned to model the food hubs—two others will be unveiled in Patuli and Tala Jheel Park—on Bangkok street food joints. Jodd Fair Market, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Srinakarin Train Market and Silom are some of the street food joints in Bangkok, which are popular among tourists and locals alike for their hygiene and affordability. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata In 2023, the Union health ministry, in collaboration with the ministry of housing and urban affairs, had urged states to develop 100 food streets in the country to promote hygienic and safe food practices. Municipal corporations of different states were asked to implement the project under the National Health Mission. KMC took up the project with financial assistance from the Centre. KMC food safety officers will check the quality of the food at the Russel Street stalls. "We have asked vendors to use spices and oils with FSSAI stamps. If any vendor is found flouting, stern action will be taken," said deputy mayor Ghosh. Vendors will be given uniforms, including t-shirts, aprons and caps, which they will have to wear while serving food to people. The vendors were visibly elated at the development. Though they were yet to get an electricity connection, many had started cooking on stoves at their new stalls. A civic official said, "The sellers got their vending licences on Wednesday. They will now apply for their power connection." Chhotelal Shah (43), a fruit seller, grew up seeing his father selling fruits on the Russel Street pavement. "My father had been selling fruits here since he was seven. Now, I am a legal vendor, I've got my KMC documents," he said. Another vendor, Ganesh Roy, said, "I will sell paratha. I'll use a gas oven till I get power connection. After that, I will use induction cooker." MMiC Kumar said, "We are calling the rehabilitated hawkers food business operators. Up next are food hubs in Patuli and Tala Jheel Park. Both are ready, we will finalise the opening dates soon. This is a plastic-free hub, and vendors have been asked to use paper or metal plates."
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Odisha tops India in sickle cell cases: Minister
Kendrapada: Odisha has emerged as the state with the highest number of sickle cell patients in India, with a staggering 96,080 cases registered on the sickle cell portal, according to the latest data shared by Anupriya Patel, minister of state for health and family welfare. In response to a query from Derek O'Brien in the Rajya Sabha, the minister responded that the total number of sickle cell patients across the country now stands at 2,15,380. Following Odisha, Madhya Pradesh reports 30,580 cases, Gujarat 28,150, Maharashtra 23,218, and Chhattisgarh 26,104. Other states with notable numbers include Rajasthan (2,729), Andhra Pradesh (2,159), and Jharkhand (2,154). The data further highlights the prevalence of sickle cell disease in states like Kerala (1,469), West Bengal (883), Karnataka (579), Tamil Nadu (485), and Telangana (468). Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand report lower figures, with 285, 32, 8, and 6 cases respectively. The Union ministry of health and family welfare is actively supporting states and union territories by providing technical and financial assistance. This support is aimed at facilitating screenings, drug procurement, counselling, awareness camps, training of healthcare personnel, and blood transfusion services for sickle cell anaemia. These initiatives are part of the Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under the National Health Mission (NHM). Additionally, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) Mission is being fully funded through CSIR's internal resources, as confirmed by the minister. This mission underscores the govt's commitment to addressing the challenges posed by sickle cell disease in India.
India Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Bihar elections: Schemes in place but money not being used - constantly!
As with every election, leaders and hopefuls in Bihar are currently busy making promises. The question voters should ask is: even if the promises are kept, is the money allocated to schemes actually being used?A Comptroller and Auditor General of India report released on July 24 found some 'major cases of non-utilisation of the entire budget provision (Rs 100 crore and above) amounting to Rs 7,567.93 crore in 20 Scheme Head of Accounts'. The report is based on 2023-24 highest unutilised fund, Rs 1,628 crore, was for the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Next to this was an unused Rs 1,500 crore for the Indira Awaas Yojana, which provides grants for housing construction to poor people. Additionally, there's an unused amount of Rs 1,387.52 crore related to various health schemes. Notably, a separate CAG report recently highlighted the extremely grim situation of healthcare in the state. Despite that, the funds for health-related works recommended by the Finance Commission, infrastructure maintenance under the National Health Mission, renovation of health centres under Saat Nishchaya-2 and construction of buildings of health sub-centres under the NABARD-sponsored scheme were completely Read | Why healthcare needs to be centre stage in Bihar electionsOther major schemes include Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana with Rs 1,100 crore unused, Rs 849.84 crore unused for financial aid to colleges and non-government schools, the National Rural Drinking Water Programme with Rs 336 crore of unused funds, and UNDERUSEDWhile many grants remained completely unutilised, many others were only half used. Among the large schemes worth Rs 1,000 crore and more, essential departments such as agriculture, education, home, disaster management, etc., saw unused funds consistently since than Rs 10,000 crore remained unutilised as grants for education every year between FY20 and FY24. In terms of share of the full budget, nearly 53 per cent of the grants in rural development were left unused in FY24 and around 47 per cent of the grants in agriculture and disaster management were left unused CAG report suggests that the consistent underutilisation of funds is mainly due to overbudgeting, lack of proper expenditure planning, bureaucratic delays, poor accountability and weak financial controls.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Hans India
3 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
Centre approves Rs 1.49 crore for day care cancer centre at Wenlock hospital
Mangaluru: Ina major boost to cancer care infrastructure in coastal Karnataka, the Central government has approved the establishment of a Day Care Cancer Centre (DCCC) at the Wenlock District Hospital in Mangaluru, with an allocation of up to ₹1.49 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM). Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta announced the approval on Monday, stating that the new centre aims to bridge the gap in cancer care between rural and urban regions by providing timely, localised services. The initiative is part of a nationwide rollout announced in the Union Budget 2025–26 to set up DCCCs in all district hospitals over the next three years. In the first phase, 200 such centres are being established based on data from the National Cancer Registry and proposals submitted by state governments. Sixteen districts in Karnataka have been selected. The Mangaluru centre will offer cancer screening, diagnostics, chemotherapy, palliative care, awareness programmes, and supportive services — all within the Wenlock Hospital campus. It aims to reduce the patient load on tertiary hospitals and improve treatment access at the district level. MP Chowta welcomed the Centre's decision and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda for addressing a vital need of the region. He termed the approval 'a timely and people-centric decision' that will ease the treatment burden for patients who would otherwise need to travel long distances.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
ASHAs to continue stir till demands met
T'puram: While the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have welcomed the Centre's decision to raise their monthly incentive to Rs 3,500, they said they will continue their ongoing strike until the state govt increases their honorarium. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With their strike completing 169 days on Saturday, ASHAs said they wanted the state govt to increase its share correspondingly. The state govt stated that they have increased their share of the honorarium to the maximum and have set up a committee to study the problems faced by the health workers under National Health Mission. On Saturday, the ASHAs remained at their protest location in front of the Secretariat. Their leader Mini S said the protest would continue until the state govt increases its share. The state share is Rs 7,000. After the increase by Centre, ASHAs will now receive Rs 15,000 as honorarium. However, many other states, including Maharashtra, are giving Rs 10,000 as their share, she added. BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, meanwhile, said the central govt has kept its promise and the state should promptly increase the wages of ASHAs. The central govt has reiterated in Parliament that decisions on administrative and human resource issues, including those of ASHAs in the health sector, should be made by the respective state govts, he added. The central govt is providing all possible benefits for ASHAs, recognising them as frontline warriors in the health sector, Chandrasekhar said. tnn
