Public health services and the impact on the surroundings

Public health service can be divided into two kinds: diseases prevention services and disease –control services.



Good health comes from the available of the nutritious food, clean air and drinking water and good sanitation in the form of clean latrines. To achieve these, both people’s cooperation and governmental efforts are necessary.



Kerala has a low death rate among the people in general, but particularly among infants and pregnant women, only because of the availability of these facilities. Let us understand this in some detail.



About 24 lakh children below the age of five die in India every year. Madhya Pradesh has the highest infant mortality rate with 13.7 per thousand live births, while Kerala has the lowest with 18. In Andhra Pradesh, the infant mortality rate is 85 per thousand. The death rate among pregnant women is 707 against lakh live births in Uttar Pradesh, 670 in Rajasthan, 498 in Madhya Pradesh, 159 in Andhra Pradesh, and 79 in Tamil Nadu.



From an analysis of the above data, we can see that back ward states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have a high death –rate because of lack of sanitation and contaminated water supply. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where sanitation is good, untimely deaths are fewer.



Diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, sepsis and tuberculosis cause most of the deaths. All these diseases are the result of unhygienic conditions. In Andhra Pradesh, public health is a major causality in the backward areas of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Telangana, Adilabad and Mahabubnagar.



The most important challenge for the poor is housing. Our villages face a shortage of one crore 50 lakh houses. About one crore 15 Lakhs houses are beyond repair. About 50 lakh houses are very congested. According to the 2001 census, 19 crore families live in rural areas. Of these, 40% live in one –room and 30% in two-room houses. Only 26% of rural families live in three or more rooms. About 34 lakh families have no separate room as such. This is why as part of the Bharat Nirman program, a target of building 60 lakh houses in four years for the below poverty line people has been set, in our rural areas, only 81% of the families have drinking water facilities, 44% have electricity, 34% have drainage facility and 22% have sanitary latrines.



Initially, migration to large cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Warangal and Rajahmundry is either for education or employment. Soon, however, the people settle down in such places. This increases the challenge of urban housing.



Thousands of pilgrims come to temple –towns like Tirupati, Bhadrachalam and Simhachalam every day. They cause immense damage to the rivers and lakes around. Tourists and pilgrims consume water carelessly and damage the soil by littering carelessly. As a result, even basic environmental resources become scarce to the people residing in these areas.



In Sattupalli and Dammayipeta villages of Khammam district, people have stopped littering waste in the open every house and school has proper sanitary condition provide. About 708 schools in the district are implementing the program. The doctors, engineers and sarpanchas here went to each house and convinced the people about the need for hygiene. They made cement rings and installed them in each house as a dustbin.



Even in tribal areas, the construction of toilets has changed people’s lives. The educational committees cooperated in building toilets. In every school, with the help of the United Nations children’s fund [UNICEF] and with constant guidance from experts, the project was completed under the leadership. Though such initiatives and efforts, we can protect our lakes, rivers and environment. We can prevent diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. The examples of the two villages in Khammam should be an inspiration to us.



In 2003, there were 173 municipalities in the state. In 2006, there are 123, showing the rapid development of urban areas. In this rapid urbanization, our state stands seventh in India. In 1971, our urban population was 84 Lakhs. Now it is more than 2.5 crore.



While the urban population in Telangana is 44% the coastal areas have 41% Rayalaseema has only 15%. Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam are the two metropolises in Andhra Pradesh. Nearly 30% of our urban population is concentrated in these two cities.



In 1971, only four cities attracted the migrants. In 2001, twenty-eight cities did so. Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Vijayawada are under severe pressure from migrants.



Any city can provide facilities for a limited number of people. But with growing populations and increasing migration, the problems increase many times over. There are shortfalls in sanitation, electricity and water supply. Slums, overcrowded buses, traffic jams and obscene of even basic facilities are a common sight. All this is due to growing urban population.

Recipes for Two Special Dosas-Wheat Dosa and Neeru Dosa

Dosa is a dish which is very much popular, especially in South India. It is the best choice for a heavy breakfast. There are quite a few varieties of dosa. Here, I would like to share two of the varieties which are not so commonly seen. They are: Wheat Dosa and Neeru Dosa.







WHEAT DOSA






Also called Godhuma dosa, this is a one of the nice varieties of dosa and serves as a good oil-free alternative to chapattis.







Ingredients:











Wheat flour (Atta): 2 cups





Rice flour: 2 cups





Salt-to taste





Curds-1/2 cup (optional)









Method:











1. Mix the wheat flour, rice flour and curds with salt. Make a dosa batter and leave it for 5-10 minutes.



2. Add finely cut green chillies, ginger and curry leaves.



3. Heat oil and prepare some seasoning with mustard and chana dal. Add it to the batter and mix well.



4. Heat tawa and pour the dosa batter onto it after smearing oil. Cook for about 4-5 minutes till the dosas get a reddish tinge.







A slight variation in the preparation of this dosa, if planned in advance, would be to soak wheat and rice for 3-4 hours, grind it and leave it overnight for fermentation, before starting to prepare dosas.















Nutritive information:







Calories: 80



Cholesterol: Nil



Carbohydrates: 21.7g











NEERU DOSA






This dosa, an ideal breakfast/snack dish, is unique to Dakshina Kannada. It is prepared mainly from rice flour and therefore, is pure white in colour.







Ingredients:











Rice-1 cup





Oil- 1 to 2 tsp





Salt-to taste









Method:










1. Soak rice in water for about 3-4 hours. Grind it to a fine liquefied paste, adding sufficient water.



2. Add salt, water and mix well to prepare the batter. Make sure that the batter is very thin.



3. Heat tawa on the stove and smear little oil. Take a small quantity of the batter and pour it evenly on all sides.



4. Cook on both sides for about 1-2 minutes. Remove and serve with coconut chutney.























Nutritional Information:







Calories : 78( comparatively less, as the batter is made very thin)



Cholesterol: Nil



Carbohydrates: 17g

Effects of alcohol

Doctors says that alcoholic drinks are harmless drinks are harmless if one takes them moderately.But, the problem is that once a person gets addicted to drinking his life becomes miserable.



Alcoholics often show personality changes once they drink in a compulsive way. They may become angry and argumentative, quiet or depressed.



Often a small amount of alcohol causes person with alcoholism to feel even more anxious, sad, tense and confused.They even seek relief by drinking more.



Once they fully drunk, they begin to do unusual things. They do not know what they do. They do not know what they do.They fight with others; they scold others for little things.At times,cases of murder,rape and molestation are also seen rustling from excessive drinking.



Serious damage to the liver, heart, stomach and other organs,especially the brain, can result from the excessive use of alcohol. Many alcoholics do not eat properly,and some of their ills are caused by poor nutrition. In some the tribal cultures, it is necessary to take rice beer.Some of them take this even for lunch and supper, too. As a result,they are physically weak.



The problem of drunken driving has become a serious problem in this modern world.Many people are losing their lives in road accidents.



Moreover, the effects of alcohol on the family are very bad . It has been observed in a number of cases that the father who drinks too much abuses his wife.



As a result, the children of the family can not concentrate on their studies .They grow in anger and fear.Drinking indeed causes very serious problems in society.