Concerned over
lack of proper facilities for disposal of radioactive substances
used in government hospitals, the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) has asked States to provide it with
information on the disposal of radioactive waste from hospitals.
The States have been asked to respond within eight weeks failing
which the Commission would take action for non-compliance.
Taking suo motu cognisance of incidents in the recent past
across the country following improper disposal, the NHRC has
sought information on the number of hospitals under the
administrative control of the government and how they were
dealing with the matter. Also, it wanted to know what steps were
being taken by the hospitals to prevent radiation from this
material. The Commission has expressed a desire to interact with
the hospitals directly.
The NHRC has constituted an expert committee for framing of some guidelines for clinical trials of drugs in the country. The Commission took this decision in connection with some cases it registered suo motu on the basis of media reports alleging unethical clinical drug trials in the country. It had also received some complaints on the issue. The NHRC has also decided to intervene in the case relating to the clinical trials of drugs pending before the Supreme Court. The case has been filed as public interest litigation by an Indore based NGO, Swasthya Adhikar Manch.
The committee will comprise of the following:-
" Dr. D.C. Doval, Director Research & Director, Medical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi;
" Prof. Vivekanand Jha, Department of Nephrology, PGIMER, Chandigarh;
" Prof. B.N. Dhawan, former Director, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and Chairman, Institutional Ethics Committee of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow;
" Dr. Subhash Yadav, Addl. Professor, Department of Endocrinology & Member Secretary, IEC, SGPGI, Lucknow;
The committee will comprise of the following:-
" Dr. D.C. Doval, Director Research & Director, Medical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi;
" Prof. Vivekanand Jha, Department of Nephrology, PGIMER, Chandigarh;
" Prof. B.N. Dhawan, former Director, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and Chairman, Institutional Ethics Committee of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow;
" Dr. Subhash Yadav, Addl. Professor, Department of Endocrinology & Member Secretary, IEC, SGPGI, Lucknow;
" Dr. Nilima Kshirsgar, National Chair in Clinical Pharmacology, Indian Council of Medical Research;
" Dean, ESI- PGIMER, MGM Hospital, Mumbai Law Division.
The NHRC shall coordinate the meetings of the Committee.
Govt notifies ban on plastic bags
" Dean, ESI- PGIMER, MGM Hospital, Mumbai Law Division.
The NHRC shall coordinate the meetings of the Committee.
Despite
the heavy pressure from the “plastic lobby”, the Delhi
government has notified the blanket ban on plastic bags. A
senior Delhi government official on Thursday confirmed that
the notification regarding blanket ban had been issued on
October 23.“The ban had been notified on October 23 and the
process of implementation of the decision is on. Very soon
Delhi will become the first plastic bags free state,” the
official said. The city government, however, notified the ban
discreetly following the pressure of the “plastic lobby”. At
least one lakh people are directly depended on the business of
plastic bags, which includes factory owners, workers and
buyers. The pressure of unemployment of these one-lakh people
was the biggest hurdle in front of the Delhi government for
banning the plastic bags.
Formal orders,
spanning over a year, passed by the Supreme Court in the public
interest petition triggered by the “highly disturbing”
photographs of people who may have been affected by the
pesticide endosulfan in Kerala show the case has come full
circle.The case, Democratic Youth Federation of India vs. Union
of India , was first heard on May 2, 2011, by a three-judge
bench led by the then Chief Justice of India Justice S.H.
Kapadia. Eleven days later, on May 13, 2011, the Bench ordered
an “immediate ban” on the pesticide.In the order, it observed
that “some of the studies show that endosulfan is significantly
associated with neuro-behavioural disorders, cognitive
disorders, hydrocephalus, mental retardation, cortical
blindness, seizures, Parkinson’s disease”.
The Karnataka
State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has allowed the Bruhat
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to dump garbage at
Mavallipura for three more months.Vaman Acharya, chairperson of
the KSPCB told Deccan Herald on Thursday that the unprecedented
garbage crisis in the City compelled the Board to reconsider its
decision on closing the Mavallipura dumping yard.“Our permission
to open the landfill is valid for only three months. We will
consider extending the permission based on the compliance of the
Palike with environmental standards.Besides, we will inspect the
dumping yard every week,” Acharya said.Senior BBMP officials
said that the prevailing situation demanded the opening of the
Mavallipura dump yard.
There were four
official ghats where the Delhi government had permitted
immersions on Wednesday, the day of Durga visarjan. However,
either because people were not aware, or because it was
convenient for some, several small idols and tonnes of puja
material found its way into the Yamuna from all possible bridges
in the city. At the Yamuna Bridge on Vikas Marg, despite two
traffic police constables, a tow truck and notices that warned
people against stopping, several people parked their vehicles on
the main road to throw puja material into the river. A temporary
mesh structure erected in the river just off the main road also
did nothing to hold in the puja material that were immersed
there. Consequently, the already filthy Yamuna was even filthier
on Wednesday, dotted with hundreds of plastic bags, strips of
red cloth and small idols among other things.
Post a Comment