Even as laboratory tests have confirmed that the bird flu has spread to new blocks in Birbhum, Murshidabad and the Hooghly districts of West Bengal, the State Animal Husbandry Department officials said on Thursday, that more than 80 per cent of culling was completed. A report from the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal on Wednesday have confirmed…

The increase in victims affected by polio has not just been due to mismanagement at the Government level. There are other factors responsible for it. One such factor is the people’s apathy to such campaigns, which lack credibility. Besides, lack of information about the polio vaccine being administered and its availability is also greatly responsible for the increase…

Even after veteran actor Sanjay Dutt endorsed chicken meat all over the country, proclaiming loud and clear that it is safe and healthy, we yet again face the problem of Avian Influenza or bird flu, as it is commonly referred as. Already, it has spread its wings around the world and has claimed millions of lives. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 36, 000 people die of Influenza in the United States each winter.
 
In Kolkatta, the workers who were involved in tending to the poultry, demanded increase in their remuneration for areas like Coochbhear’s Dinhata block and the Debra block of West Midnapore district, which have been hit by bird flu. Even after being aware of the fact that out of 19 districts, 13 are under the threat of bird flu, the culling modus operandi is still in progress.…

The other day my friend remarked that the term Euthanasia or ‘mercy-killing’ as it is commonly known, is an oxymoron at par with a virgin prostitute, a vegetarian hamburger and the likewise. She said, “Why? Isn’t ‘mercy’ all about saving someone?” For all those who subscribe to the above mentioned views on Euthanasia, I’d like to narrate an experience that I had in an old age home a few years back…

It is said often that doctors are god’s gift on earth. Or are they? Doctors heal, they cure and provide a new lease of life to millions around the world. Doctors are a godsend or are they devil’s reincarnation on earth? What if these Holy Saviors turn into the angels of death? The recent ‘kidney racket’ has brought such questions closer home.

There have been numerous cases where the supposed saviors and healers have played the role of sinister demons. Very often, a few doctors, motivated by vested interests, have resorted to illegal practices like organ trading.

The Transplantation of The Human Organ Act 1994 enshrined in our constitution, in a nutshell, says the following. Organ donation cannot be carried out without the consent of the donor. Organ donation can only be undertaken out for therapeutic purposes and not for commercial benefits. In addition, the donor should either be a deceased who consented to donating his/her organs after their demise, or a brain dead person. No human organ removed from the body of a donor before his death shall be transplanted into a recipient unless the donor is a near relative of the recipient.…

I thought it was over, till I glanced through the newspaper. I thought people had stopped asking for it, till a TV sting operation showed us the ‘current price’ of an IFS Officer. I am talking about the much hyped and yet the extremely unpleasant topic of dowry. According to a national report, 25,000 women die each year because their parents couldn’t give a house or a particular car to the groom…

Ever wondered, 58 years hence, why should republic day be celebrated? Has the Day has lost its meaning? It is reduced to just another holiday that everyone eagerly waits for. To the Delhi-ites, it just means more endless traffic jams. For all the disillusioned, let me put forth a few facts which, I hope, will make you proud of this Day…

Have you heard the song “sajna ji vari vari” from Honeymoon Travels? Next time you hear it try and concentrate on the words. This song is all about how a woman must give her all to her husband. It shows that her husband is her whole world. If you are a feminist you would really be angered by the words…

I remember reading from film magazines how many actresses recall their beginnings in the film industry, when they were barely beginning to understand the world, and were made to slog hard by their own parents. So acute was the case of poverty in certain families that the only way to earn their living was to drag their own children into early labour…

More than half a decade back, in broad daylight on March 3rd, 2002, human animosity took on yet another form of petrifying disaster. A five month old pregnant Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano, was gang raped and stripped in public. When escorted to the police station, the police inspector refused to register her complaint…