Day: July 5, 2014

By M.C. Linthoingambee

There has been no dearth of news with regard to drug busts in Manipur or of various organizations coming forth to take the battle against drugs head on. Interestingly, the word ‘drug’ has been so abused on its own that only negative connotations are associated with it. Mention ‘drugs’ and the immediate reaction is to associate it with those that are abused even though it is a generic word for all medicines! Some drugs do come into the category of good or grades as general A average due to their inner chemical components that helps in treating various diseases and illnesses. While legal drugs are made available in the market for treatment, there are also those drugs that exists in a very parallel universe termed and marked illegal but as always are sold over the counter.

Drug Trafficking is a common offence in most places. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has published data in 2012 indicating that the highly active states involved in the majority of drug trafficking cases are led by Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and so on. There are two acts currently leading in the framing of the main drug policies in India which extends to the whole of India and all its Indian Citizens and to any ships or aircrafts registered in India. All major delegation of litigation fighting to such affect is dealt in the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 shorty acclaimed as NDPS Act where it states that it is illegal for a person to produce, manufacture, cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. One of the main motive in this drug policy was also to establish the Narcotics Control Bureau that does every bit of work to control anything related to the above actions. There is also the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Today, there are also news of the Foods and Drugs Administration joining hands with the Narcotics wing to control the spread of further drug trafficking. Possession of drugs in itself is an offence under the NDPS ACT where it doesn’t matter it if was for a personal use or for any other purpose. The punishment depends upon the quantity of drugs he possesses. However, if he is charged with either possession of small quantities of drugs or with consumption of drugs and he voluntarily seeks to undergo medical treatment for de– addiction from a hospital or an institution maintained or recognized by the government or a local authority, he shall not be liable for prosecution. This immunity from prosecution may be withdrawn if he does not undergo the complete treatment for de–addiction.

All of us do not need to take part in making indifference choices. The society isn’t bold without its people. With more and more youngsters introduced to drugs at a young age we see more people consuming these illegal substance and intoxicants. When a person is heavily intoxicated, they loose the ability to think and this situation as one might say hasn’t very much put us in a very good place. The underage drunks, the college students who smokes because they think it’s cool when their other friends do it, those many who delve into intoxicants under peer pressure, maybe it wont be so wrong to ask them to stop but, “Who’s going to stop?”, “No one”. Until they try it for themselves, “No smoking in public places”, “Smoking is injurious to health”, etc the leading advertisements are just another ignorance. Its always a walk in the park until the side effects come alive where it is indeed true as they say – We reap what we sow.

While in Manipur, news come by every now and then of women folks like the Meira-Paibis, other voluntary organizations like AMADA, CADA, etc making initiatives of catching anyone in possession of any of these Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances with certain displays of burning and destroying them on TV. The involutary liability one gives for drug addiction is being uncontrollable when the supply or stock of the Narcotic or Psychotropic Substances run out. Drug use also crime rates as it induces those who abuse them to make errors in judgements and hence, take to theiving, robbery, assaults and even killings in the cloud of their ‘high’. Yet, this does not mean that drug abuse need only strict policing as it is a public health issue. The involvement of people who have been into drug abuse and who fought to stay clean and clear from them to communicate with people who continue to use drugs may be a good beginning.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/the-fight-against-drugs/

By Soibam Haripriya

Empathy could be, in this context, thought of as identification with the tormented. The word identification is surprisingly beautifully described in the dictionary as “the process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person”. Another entry describes it as “the perception of another as an extension of oneself”. The latter word is potent enough to keep one thinking as to why is the word ‘solidarity’ is used when extending our ‘solidarity’ to another struggle. Identification is certainly a more difficult location to inhabit, to perceive another as an extension of oneself is certainly an investment that is deeply enmeshed with set identities that prevent this.

An extension of the earlier discussion of certain cases of violence sees mobilisation on starkly certain lines. The few months old discussion of racism which has certainly died down now too sees this trend – that many are in solidarity with the campaign and yet couldn’t draw lines of identification with it. Tragically it will be another spurt of violence that will revive the discussion on racism. Crime against women, to reiterate the previous discussion is not a solitary issue. It is enmeshed with identities or the lack of it, drawn across class, caste, ‘racial’ity, ethnic otherness, etc. An age old question that gets regularly asked of groups of women fighting against crime, inequality and gender subjugation is of the possibility of building a larger solidarity of women. It is certainly not necessary that women derive their primary identification with the fact of belonging to a certain sex and gender, just as it is impossible for men too. It is however, another idea that I want to pursue, that is of individual identification building up to a larger idea of commonalities of purpose.

Identification, “the perception of another as an extension of oneself” could lead to empathy. The various crimes against women gets entangled with values of ‘shame’, ‘honour’ of a community rather than becoming a deeply felt individual violation in itself too, which it is. Certainly, there is no denying that crimes against women are tools used against communities, ethnic and class and caste others. The intersectionality of the fact of being of a certain sex, gender and caste and class and many other identities do make one be at the receiving end. The same intersectionality also gives certain other people the belief that they can with impunity commit certain crimes. While one can draw commonalities and be in solidarity with a certain individual affected by crime of such nature which gets conflated as many other things, the highly individual nature of the outrage is to be recognised too.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/the-impossibility-of-empathy-part-ii/

By Dr Khushboo Shah Sawant

With the arriving monsoons it becomes very essential to be aware of the importance of water, along with the diseases that can be caused through water. Diseases caused due to consumption of contaminated water are known as water borne diseases. They are extremely prevalent especially during monsoons, where there may be chances of water logging, mixing of contaminated water with clean water, or simply contamination of open water bodies like lakes, ponds or rivers.

Consumption of water contaminated by human or animal excreta, waste matters which contain pathogenic microorganism’s causes water borne diseases. Flood water can carry along with it, while open sewage, human and animal faeces, chemical wastes, or any other form of dead or decaying matter can also give rise to diseases like diarrhea. Infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and protozoa are the most common and wide spread health risks associated with drinking water. In a country like ours, a major chunk of diseases are caused due to water borne microorganisms. Children specially are most susceptible to them, giving rise to water borne diseases being one of the leading causes of childhood deaths and more so with diarrhea.

Waterborne diseases are contagious and require high standards of hygiene and sanitation in order to prevent it. However, it is essential to know first how the infection takes place. The micro-organisms present in human or animal waste enter into a healthy human body and cause disease. The most common way by which the micro-organisms are spread is through drinking contaminated water. However apart from that, water borne diseases can be spread through various other means such as, through clothes, hands, food, materials used for cooking eating and drinking. There are also some micro-organisms that can enter the body through an open wound, eyes, and nose as well.

Water borne diseases are extremely harmful and lead to some severe illnesses and may sometimes be fatal. They reduce the body’s resistance and also rip off various vital nourishment, and make the body furthermore susceptible to diseases. Therefore it is important to be aware of a few common waterborne diseases:

Amoebiasis: It is a parasitic infection caused by ‘entamoeba histolytica’ due to ingestion of faecal matter of an infected person, usually from an infected water supply source. It causes severe diarrhea, stomach pain along with cramping.

Cholera: Caused due to the ‘vibrio cholera’ bacteria is an epidemic whose outbreak is caused by contaminated drinking water. The symptoms of cholera are severe watery stool, vomiting, and cramps in the legs. Dehydration occurs in the people affected and can even lead to death.

E Coli: is caused by a bacteria ‘Escherichia coli’ that festers in undercooked beef or other meat cooked in unhygienic conditions, unpasteurized milk etc. An E Coli infected person may have symptoms such as diarrhea which may even have blood in it along with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever.

Giardiasis: The causative organism is a parasite ‘Giardia lamblia’ and is present mostly in contaminated water. The symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, excessive gas formation in the stomach, nausea and an overall upset feeling of the stomach.

Hepatitis A: commonly known as Jaundice, it is a viral infection caused due to food prepared in unhygienic conditions, contaminated water, shell-fish, raw salads and vegetables which have not been cleaned properly. The symptoms are dull low fever, fatigue, weakness, pain in stomach, nausea, aversion to food, dark yellow coloured urine, yellow discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes etc.

Typhoid: Caused by a bacteria ‘Salmonella Typhi’ happens mainly through consumption of contaminated milk or milk products, poultry, eggs, meat, meat products etc. Symptoms of typhoid include consistent fever, headache, constipation as well as diarrhea, vomiting loss of appetite, and an abdominal rash.

Viral Gastroenteritis: by far one of the most common water borne disease and caused by ‘calicivirus virus’. A viral gastroenteritis is caused typically after consumption of contaminated water or food prepared in contaminated water, eating raw fruits or vegetables which have not been washed etc. The symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting nausea, headache, body ache, cramps in the stomach, tiredness, fever etc.

The common symptoms that run through most of the water borne diseases are diarrhea and vomiting which happens to be the main reasons of children death. The main risk in diarrhea or vomiting is dehydration, which means the loss of vital fluid content of the body hindering its normal functioning. It is very important to watch out for the signs of dehydration, which are extreme or continuous thirst, reduced frequency of urination than normal, the colour of the urine becoming dark yellow, inability to sweat, fatigue, dryness of the mucous membranes around the lips, eyes etc, loss of moisture in the skin, light headedness etc. By the time these signs develop, the dehydration may be advanced and so it is very important to replenish the lost fluids and essential salts called as electrolytes.

All said and done, there is a simple solution for water borne diseases: prevention. Taking simple hygienic and sanitary preventive measures can help avoid the same. Drinking water that is boiled, cooled, stored in hygienic vessels which are washed and cleaned daily; washing our hands every time before and after a meal and after defaecation with a clean soap; eating food that is freshly cooked; cooking food at a high temperature so that all the pathogens are killed; avoiding eating stale food or food that has been stored for a long time; ensuring meat is well cooked; covering yet to be consumed food with a lid to avoid pest infestation; avoiding eating raw vegetables or fruits without washing them properly; avoiding eating or drinking food from roadside vendors; using proper toilets for defaecation; washing hands and feet each time after coming from outside; keeping nails clipped and clean; avoiding bathing or washing clothes in open stagnant water etc are some easy ways of prevention. However, if a person ex
periences any of the above mentioned symptoms even after taking all precautionary measures, he must visit the doctor immediately for further treatment.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/watch-your-water/